Former Nickelodeon star Kel Mitchell shares his journey from being one of the most successful actors in Hollywood to becoming a youth pastor in California.
Mitchell was a household name in the 90s with TV comedies “All That” and “Kenan & Kel.” Despite the fame, he found a different calling away from the limelight. In an interview with CBN News, he opened up about how his struggles in his personal life inspired him to become a pastor.
The comedian came from a religious family, with his grandfather a pastor, but he said that knowing God is different from having a relationship with Him. Like all of us, he dealt with a lot of problems in his personal and professional life. During every storm, he felt God’s presence and realized he wanted God to be the head of his life.
We are ambassadors of Christ. We are his billboards. We influence people to come to Christ, come to God. —Kel Mitchell
“In my times of going through depression, suicidal thoughts, all these different things, and working on shows at the same time, God was there,” he said in an interview with TODAY.
Circumstances removed all of the things in his life—people, activities, that was not of God’s. Like Jonah, Mitchell dismissed God’s calling. Despite his rejections, fate brought him in situations that eventually led him to say yes to God.
From short talks to the youth to nonreligious community dance competitions, he realized that God was leading him to ministry. In 2019, he became a licensed pastor and now serves in the Spirit Food Christian Center in Winnetka, California.
He may have answered God’s calling, but he still was active in Hollywood and that prompted him to pray, “Lord, how am I going to do this while I’m also still a celebrity?”
His wife told him to be both an actor and a pastor. “My wife said, ‘Hey, you be the first, and you do it,’ and that’s what I did,” he said. “It’s not an easy task; I’ve been doing it for years.”
Mitchell is now promoting his debut book, Blessed Mode, to inspire others and encourage them, reports Christian Post. He explained that he wrote the devotional “because a lot of people are going through anxiety, depression, emotional walls from their past [and they’re] worried about the future, and I wanted them to know that if you connect with God, there’s always a blessed breakthrough in every emotional wall.”
The actor has been in the show business for decades and now he’s impacting several generations of audiences. “We are ambassadors of Christ. We are his billboards. We are influencers. We influence people to come to Christ, come to God.”
In addition to promoting his book, he partnered with World Vision for a fund-raising event to help children get clean water. Mitchell revealed that children and young women in some countries walk 6 kilometers just to get clean water. World Vision organized Global 6K for Water, a global movement where communities will walk or run in different parts of the world for 6 kilometers to bring clean water to those in need. Those interested could register online for $50 and the money raised will help build wells for kids.
