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RU F.I.T. Motivational Ministries
Building A Community of GREENIES who are
Raving Fans of Physical & Spiritual Health

   My Mantra:
   RU F.I.T. with Faith Influencing Today where we Live, Work and Play!

My Triumph:
   I lost over 80 lbs and regained my health!

My Workout Philosophy:
I think of all those who would love to be doing what I'm doing if they could!

   My Mission:
        To create a community of GREENIES who are Raving Fans of health in mind, body and spirit!

   My Triumph:
          I won my age group in a 2017 Run for Your Life Six Pack Race Series by over fifteen minutes

My journey to become a greenie - a raving fan of Physical & spiritual health!

Hanging my feet over cliff after 11 mile run in Ireland

My name is Mark Harrell; I have devoted the last 35 years of my life to the honor of impacting lives for eternity. I led my first soul to Christ in 1979 as a Sr. High counselor at a Jr. High youth camp while attending the Florence Baptist Temple in Florence S.C. Since that day… not a year has passed that I have not had the privilege of leading at least one individual to Christ, and not a month has elapsed, since 1996 (when I was introduced to Biblical Discipleship), that I have not been engaged in biblical discipleship. Developing GREENIES in mind, body and spirit is my passion!

Baptist University of America
I graduated from FCS (Florence Christian School) in 1983 and then earned my B.S. degree from BUA (Baptist Univ. of America) in Pastoral Theology in three years. While in college I traveled in a select music ensemble for three years that ministered in hundreds of churches all across America. I met my wife (Karen) in that ensemble; she was my singing partner. Little did we know that God would use that experience touring the United States to help us understand the strengths and weaknesses of the church for such a time as this. It would be one rung in our maturation process to KNOW how to motivate people to become F.I.T. believers. By F.I.T. I mean = F.I.T. with F-aith I-nfuencing T-oday where people live, work and play with the gospel in a powerful way.

Lincoln, Nebraska
Upon graduation I immediately began my ministry career as part of a church staff in Lincoln, NE. I had multiple responsibilities, and, it too, was a rung in the ladder to help us gain an understanding of what God would want from us at a certain point and time in the future. Our primary responsibility was that of the youth. We developed a vibrant outreach ministry and the group grew from 33 teens to 75 teens in one year. It was in Lincoln that God used the leadership of that church to mature me in the area of spiritual leadership. I thank God for the foresight of Pastor Godwin. We are learning that God does EVERYTING decently and in order. For one I am glad that He leads us step by step.

Atlanta, Georgia
We left Lincoln and moved to Atlanta, Ga. This is where I became intimately familiar with the principles of S.S. taught by Leon Kilbreth. I used them with great success while a youth pastor in Georgia and Jacksonville, Fl. In Georgia, we were part of God leading us to grow the youth group from 4 (the first week we met) to 65 (the 6th week we met). Jacksonville was a similar story. We began with 13 teens and quickly grew to over 50. We accomplished this with teen leadership training (ZAP) and an aggressive soulwinning ministry. When we left Atlanta to minister in Melbourne, Fl., we had an establish ministry of over 65 teens. Again… God was adding more rungs to the ladder of our understanding the times in which we live. We knew how to get the numbers; however, God was in the process of teaching us how to impact lives that could impact others for eternity!

Melbourne, Florida
Melbourne took us in a direction that was new. I was the Athletic Director, taught Bible and History, had oversight to the young adult ministry of the church and coached varsity soccer. God used this experience to help us understand college age students, and help me develop leadership and organizational skills that, up to that point, were still dormant. It was a wonderful year… especially in regards to boys varsity soccer. We won the Florida state championship, the regional championship and placed 4th in the nation. I have close relationships to this day with the guys on that squad. It was difficult to leave the activities on the beach and the beautiful weather, but God was progressively preparing us for the future. This was yet another rung on our journey toward relevant ministry in today’s world.

Jacksonville, Florida
It was in Jacksonville, Fl that God really started putting two plus two together for us. The pastor gave us the opportunity to lead in a multiplicity of ministry facets. Our primary responsibility was the youth, but I was also given the leadership over the entire S.S. ministry (Minister of Ed.) as the Sunday School increased from 220 to over 300 in six months, the young adult ministry, the Jr. Church and the youth camping ministry (I organized a youth camp in which 6 churches attended representing 250+ teens. It was a great success in souls saved and commitments made).

Church Plant: Concord, North Carolina
After 5 years of ministering at East Pointe Baptist, it was my thought that God was moving on my heart to start a church. We moved to Charlotte, NC on January 5th of 1995. It was a total step of faith; as I look back it could be classified as blind faith. I really didn’t know what I was doing, but … God knew that already. It was part of his plan for us as we sought to accomplish His will. We needed to learn some things, and this was going to be His way of teaching us those needed lessons about becoming F.I.T. believers to our worlds of influence.

The "Chance" Meeting
The pivotal moment of our lives happened in July of 1996. We were establishing our church by winning people to Christ, but I was still unprepared to equip people to engage Satan on his territory. I was leading people to Christ and getting them involved in church, but… I didn’t know how to get them to the next levels of spiritual growth. I was about to meet a man that would Jeremiah 1:10 me; and believe me, I needed it. It was through this meeting in 1996 that I began fleshing principles out that have brought us to this point and time in our lives. Ken and Karin taught us how to INVEST the Word of God into the lives of others on PURPOSE and with PURPOSE!

2002 - 2011
In 2002 God led me to resign the church I had planted and merge with individuals in the secular workforce. It has been amazing; God has taught me so many things that I would have never learned had I not left the pulpit. I never left the ministry… just the pulpit as a professional pastor. My ministry (as far as relevance) has grown exponentially since following the leadership of the Holy Spirit into the workforce. God has used ministry inside and outside of the auspices of the church to give us a clear and unshakable understanding of the times in which we live.

July 28, 2011 - Present
On the way to a soccer match in May of 2011 I received a call that a small, dying church (Faith Church) in Oakboro, NC was interested in me. On July 28th of that year I accepted the unanimous call to be their pastor. Again, in 2018, God lead me to resign the church and begin my RU F.I.T. nonprofit in order to bring awareness to the issues of spiritual and physical obesity in the Body of Christ. I officially became a nonprofit in 2019 and am now reaching out to share my journey to physical fitness based on Biblical principles that our physical bodies are the Temple of God, and as such, our health should be a priority as a testimony to those around us attesting of our love for God.

God is beginning to align me with likeminded groups and individuals to share my journey and encourage believers to be F.I.T. physically and spiritually. I encourage you to watch the videos of my Spiritual Nutrition Tools and testimonies as you make your decision for us to help you Equip the Body of Christ!

Live OUT LOUD!
Mark – Founder of RU FIT! Ministries

What is ru f.i.t. motivational ministries:

1. Physical F.I.T.ness Motivational Ministry based on II Corinthians 6:19-20's command to glorify God in our bodies and in our spirits.
2. Spiritual F.I.T.ness Motivational Ministry based on the same principle to not be spiritually unhealthy as we "run the race of life."

*I would count it an honor to be able to come into your group/church and help establish an equipping track for your leaders as they fulfill their responsibilities to establish people in the work of the ministry.