by Danita White
A former Nickelodeon star of “Kenan and Kel” fame is now a pastor.
Actor, comedian and musical artist, Kel Mitchell, has been a youth pastor at Spirit Food Christian Center for about a year. But in an announcement on social media at the beginning of this month, Mitchell revealed that his transition into becoming a licensed pastor at the Southern California church is now complete.
“Officially became a licensed pastor last weekend,” Mitchell wrote. “Blessed and thankful to my Spirit Food Family and thank you, Pastor Zeigler, for seeing the calling of God on my life and trusting me with your Youth Department.”
He also quoted Romans 8:28-29 from the New Living Translation which reads:
“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them. For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like His Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”
To date, his pastoral announcement has received almost 40,000 likes with many fans and followers praising his new role.
“I love seeing God work through you,” @lady_sinclairity commented.
“Proud of you,” @marilulugram said along with a heart emoji.
According to a bio on the church website, Mitchell “has been faithfully involved in Helps Ministry for over eight years at his church, and most recently became the Youth Pastor of Spirit Food Christian Center after Pastor Zeigler saw God’s calling on his life to reach & teach the youth”. When he is not acting, writing or directing, he speaks to youth across the country encouraging them to trust in the Lord and follow their dreams.
Mitchell often posts encouraging verses and sayings on his Twitter account. One from November 10 reads, “Let your faith roar so loud that you can’t hear what doubt is saying”. And in an interview with The Christian Post, the actor said he has felt the “call” to be a pastor “all through my life”. “It’s been miraculous to see the things that have happened within me answering that call,” Mitchell said.
Check out the video below of Mitchell’s “Grind + Grace = Favor” sermon from November 3, 2019. A description posted to Mitchell’s official YouTube account reads:
In this message, the word “grind” is used to describe the actions we take – it’s the hard work and struggle we go through to try to achieve what we want. But are we grinding with grace? Are we trying to do it with our strength and not God’s strength? We certainly all have dreams and we have to work to achieve them. However, if we allow ourselves to let God use His strength on our behalf, allowing His grace in our lives, it can be transformational. We don’t need to worry or be anxious, but we can trust that by following God’s Word, and continually making our desires known to Him then we can achieve peace in our life.
You can watch other messages from Mitchell here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjbwnS8FpH5FiTjJ8EAEGVomQ04jzUIYa.