Meet Brandon Skelton

We were lucky to catch up with Brandon Skelton recently and have shared our conversation below.

Brandon, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

Any worthwhile journey starts with knowing your “Why”. Knowing your Why keeps you focused and motivated during the times that things are not going the way you planned. My passion is providing clean comedy. I even consider it to be a God given calling because my relationship with Christ is a driving force behind everything I do.
I read a quote that said, “As long as you can laugh, there is hope.” My purpose is to give people hope through comedy. We all have difficult days and difficult seasons. I have had my share of them. If I found a way to laugh then my tank was filled and I could keep moving forward. A prime example of this was when my dad was diagnosed with cancer toward the beginning of me doing comedy. I went to an open mic the night I found out about his diagnosis. It was nice to laugh even on my toughest day. When I do comedy and I hear folks laughing, I know they are filling up their tank too.
Many times after a show I have had individuals come up to me to share their situation and how much they needed to laugh. Each time this happens I am reminded that I have a gift to do comedy and I am thankful for the opportunity to fulfill that calling.
I actually stumbled in to doing comedy. My comedy journey started in December 2017 when a pastor asked me to do comedy at his church’s Christmas banquet. Things went well. Then I was invited to another Christmas banquet. I discovered how much I enjoyed making people laugh by telling crafted stories that are relatable. I have been married for 15 years to my wife, Elizabeth. We have 2 children. I share a lot of stories about our marriage and being a parent. I am also a pastor, teacher, and coach so I pull stories from those life experiences as well. The great thing with being a comedian is when crazy things happen it makes for a great story.
I have been very blessed since starting in comedy in 2017. I have opened on the Huckabee Show, been featured on Praise and Harmony TV, and released a DryBar special. I have had the opportunity to provide comedy for churches and organizations in 17 different states. One of my greatest joys in comedy is using comedy as a means to raise support for causes. Primarily, I have done events to help send people on mission trips. I am also a representative with Fellowship of Christian Athletes. This has allowed me the opportunity to provide comedy for FCA events. My hope is to use comedy as a means to raise support for FCA staff because we are like missionaries in the schools but we have to raise our own support.
I never imagined where the comedy road would take me. God will open doors when we are faithful with the opportunities God provides,

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I go by “The Church Comedian” because most of my comedy events are in some type of church setting. I provide comedy for a lot of local churches but have also provided comedy at state and national events as well. My comedy is not focused around church culture though. I do include several minutes about being a pastor and ministry but my goal is to connect with the entire audience. Crafting my sets to connect with a general audience has also allowed me to perform at comedy clubs when they are doing a clean show. My goal is to provide comedy that is funny for everyone no matter their age, religion, profession, etc. Laughter is a universal language.
One thing that helped me greatly was taking a 6 week comedy class called “School of Laughs” with Rik Roberts. Anyone can tell a funny story but this class helped me in word placement, misdirection, how to get the most out of the punchline, and other important elements of comedy.
Another game challenger for me was participating in the Clean Comedy Challenge in 2018 and 2019. This is a national clean comedy contest. I got the opportunity to connect with some amazing comedians, develop my craft, and see first hand that I had a lot of work to do so that I could get on level with other comedians.
When I am not doing comedy I am involved with Fellowship of Christian Athletes. FCA is a non-profit interdenominational ministry that focuses on sharing Christ and helping coaches and athletes develop in their relationship with God. We are like missionaries in the school system. We get the opportunity to pray with students and share the Bible with them. By spending so much time in the schools I get to connect with students and their families. This has fueled my passion for comedy even more because I see first hand the struggles that so many face and it helps me realize the need for laughter.
I am working on developing my social media presence. I can be found on YouTube as “The Church Comedian Brandon Skelton”. I am also on Instagram as “The Church Comedian”. I also have another Instagram page called “FCApastor” where you can follow that journey as well and listen to devotionals.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

First quality is be teachable. We never start off as an expert in anything. However, there are others who are further along in the same journey as us so find mentors. Be thankful when they provide constructive criticism. We all need coaches to grow us and cheerleaders to encourage us.
Second quality is be friendly and intentionally develop relationship. Those relationships will help you grow in your craft, keep you encouraged during difficult seasons, and provide you with opportunities. It does not matter how good you are if no one is providing you with the opportunity to display your ability.
Third quality is stay humble. Lack of humility will cause us to get discouraged because we think we deserve more. This negative mindset will cause us to self-destruct. Also humility allows me to appreciate where I am but also know that I need to be constantly working to develop.
Some advice is to enjoy the journey. Be present where you are and not always worrying about arriving at some destination. Appreciation the little moments. If you have family bring them along with you.

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?

My parents have always been some of my biggest supporters. They have always encouraged me whether playing a sport, planting a church, or doing comedy. They have always helped me to believe I can accomplish anything especially when I feel it is something God has called me to do. There have been occasions that I have wanted to give up but after talking with them I felt encouraged to push through the tough times. They set the example for me of staying strong in your faith and keep pushing when times get hard. Both of those examples have been necessary in my journey of doing comedy and ministry.

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