“Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.” is billed as a satirical comedy, and it delivers both of those elements heavily and successfully throughout. Any sort of film about religion, especially seen in a comedic light, is likely to spark controversy, but “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.” never feels mean-spirited. That’s because Ebo draws from her own experience growing up as a Southern Baptist and while the satire is incisive, it never feels mean-spirited. The film doesn’t appear to be interested in creating any sort of takedown of organized religion — rather, it’s interested in the hypocritical elements of faith and the idea of performance when it comes to preaching.

As someone unfamiliar with the Southern Baptist religion but who has grappled with ideas of faith and religion, I found “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.” a rewarding experience. It’s clear that Ebo has an in-depth understanding not only of religious practices but more importantly, the surrounding community. After all, what is religion without community?

While the comedy makes way for a more understated character drama, there are some brilliantly funny moments in “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.” One comes during a scene in church where a young girl, Aria (Selah Kimbro Jones), is cleansed by the Pastor, and the group breaks out in song dance, with the girl and pastor so moved by the holy spirit that they start speaking in tongues. The camera cuts to Arial in a talking head interview, stating: “I love the theatre.” It’s a terrific moment that showcases how different everyone’s reactions to the same thing can be — while some of the people appear genuinely moved and transformed, Aria is just enjoying a chance to have fun and join in the theatrics

Another fantastic scene happens at a shopping mall where Trinitie is looking for a new church hat. She runs into Sister Denetta (Olivia D. Dawson) whom the mockumentary’s on-screen text tells us is a congregant of the church. The two speak to each other with beaming smiles, but you can tell that there’s some serious tension between two women, and they even exchange the savage southern burn “bless your heart.” When Trinitie claims that Denetta is no longer a member of her church (she’s jumped ship to a competing congregation), the on-screen text appears, changing the initial assessment of “congregant” to “former congregant.” It’s a hilarious moment that finds Ebo playing with cinematic form to great comedic effect, all while highlighting the way that people keen to avoid conflict speak to one another, just about managing to harbor their resentments towards one another.