Actor, producer and comedian Kel Mitchell, who in the 1990s starred in Nickelodeon’s “All That” and “Kenan and Kel,” says that he went through an extremely dark period in his life that almost led to suicide in 2005. But God saved him and eventually called him to become a youth pastor.
“When I got the call to be a youth pastor, God spoke to me so clearly in my time of prayer,” Mitchell told Fox News Digital. “And I said, ‘Yo, I’m going to do it. I’m going to do it.’ He’s been there for me. And I want others to feel this joy and to feel this peace. We want people to live. We want people to enjoy life. And I’m all about that.”
Kel Mitchell: We Are ‘Born for a Purpose’
Kel Mitchell, who is from Chicago, got his break when a talent agent noticed him acting on stage and helped him get cast at age 15 in Nickelodeon’s “All That,” a comedy sketch series. Mitchell appeared in the show from 1994 to 1999, and he and his “All That” costar Kenan Thompson starred in the spinoff, “Kenan and Kel,” which ran from 1996 to 2000. Mitchell and Thompson also starred in the 1997 film, “Good Burger,” based on a sketch from “All That.”
Mitchell has remained in show business and appears in the new movie, “All I Didn’t Want for Christmas.” He also recently appeared on the Dec. 3 episode of Saturday Night Live (SNL) where he and Thompson (now an SNL cast member) joined host Keke Palmer for a sketch titled “Kenan and Kelly.”
“That was awesome! Such a fun blessed night!” said Mitchell on Facebook. “God I’m so grateful! Proverbs 16:3 Commit your works to the Lord [submit and trust them to Him],
And your plans will succeed [if you respond to His will and guidance].”
Kel Mitchell shared with journalist Jemele Hill that he went through some “really dark areas” in his life from 1997 through 2005, but wasn’t talking to anyone about what he was going through. Eventually, in 2005 he stood on the balcony of hotel about to commit suicide, but he did not jump because something stopped him. That “was the Lord speaking to my spirit at that moment,” said Mitchell. It was then that the actor started a “faith adventure” to seek God’s face and turn his life around.
Mitchell told Fox News Digital that he grew up in church, but “there’s a difference between knowing God and having a relationship with God. And I just got to a point in my life where I wanted to make sure that he was in everything that I do. Because when I was trying to figure out everything on my own, I got into a lot of frustration and situations. And the thing about it is that a lot of depression comes from internalizing frustration, and you need to get it out. And you need to know that you’re loved by God and you were born for a purpose. When I figured that out, I wanted others to know that as well because he was always there for me in the ups and downs of my life.”
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