By Brad Dupray
Christian churches in 38 states have enjoyed the ministry of “The Singing Mitchells” over the past 58 years. Pete and Pat Mitchell have lived through every phase of marriage while singing at churches and revivals, running a family business, and raising four children (and now six grandchildren). From their home in Robinson, Illinois, they commuted back and forth, often daily, to conduct evangelistic meetings in support of the local church. The Singing Mitchells have recorded nine albums and are charter members of the Highland Church of Christ in Robinson.
If you”ve been singing together for 58 years you must have gotten an early start.
Pat: We sang my sophomore, junior, and senior years, and as soon as I graduated from high school we got married.
Were you “a couple” from the start or did love blossom as you sang together?
Pat: Basically, we were more than just friends, but my mother didn”t allow me to go out on dates””only to church. By the time I was a junior we knew that we were to be together the rest of our lives. We became engaged my senior year. I graduated at the end of May and we were married on the 17th of June, 1949.
So was it just the two of you singing?
Pete: In the first years, before we had kids, it was the Gospel Tones Trio. Somebody else would sing and play piano with us, and in the early years of our marriage we sang with a local quartet. The kids sang with us until they got pretty well through college and went to do their own ministries.
As you started to raise a family how did you handle family issues: dragging four kids along wherever you went, maintaining a household, paying the bills, etc?
Pete: Very carefully!
Pat: We did not consider that a problem. We would pick the kids up at school when we were doing a revival and they would do their homework while the preacher was preaching. It was never an issue. If there was something very important at school that they wanted to be a part of, we made arrangements, but they just knew that was our life. They learned to love what we did. I”m confident they”re in ministry now because they learned to love people, they learned to love God, and they learned to love to serve.
Were you out on the road for long periods of time?
Pete: Sometimes we would go away, but most of the time we drove back and forth. We drove to Indianapolis quite a bit and places like Evansville and Louisville. Sometimes we flew. I was in a flying club, and sometimes my director would fly us to meetings that were too far by car.
Pat: Sometimes we would travel for nine weeks””back and forth every day from revival meetings in the area with evangelists like Ben Merold, Wayne Shaw, Cotton Jones, Jack Ballard, Ken Idleman, and others of our great preachers. I couldn”t list all the preachers who have influenced our family over the years.
How did you pull off running your floral business alongside the music ministry?
Pete: You want to know how we did that . . . I don”t know! We just managed to get it all done before it was time to go sing.
Pat: Sometimes when we were scheduled to leave at 5:00 and a funeral director would ask for a casket floral arrangement at 4:00. Pete would get it done before we had to leave.
Do you still travel to churches quite a bit?
Pat: Oh yes””Pete, our son Max, and I still travel about 45 weekends a year, including revivals.
How have you adjusted to meet the needs of the changing church over the years?
Pete: When families began to fall apart, churches would call us because we were “The Mitchell Family Singers” and that worked very well. They wanted those kids on the platform where the congregation could see them.
Did fewer churches doing revivals have a big impact on your ministry?
Pete: We basically adjusted to it. It didn”t happen overnight. We just sort of adjusted with it.
Pat: Primarily now we do concerts on weekends.
Is there something you have learned from your travels that would provide encouragement to other Christians?
Pete: Some folks have a few hard knocks along the way and it affects their life so they can”t do anything.
Pat: Through the years there were difficult times, but God has been so good to us.
Pete: All of our kids have learned to deal with valleys, and this makes them stronger.
Pat: We are very proud of our kids. Every one of them. We always told our kids, “Remember first of all you”re a Christian, and then you”re a Mitchell, and that helps you remember how you behave.”
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