By Courtney Ingle
Pamela (second from left) and Lee Pickett (second from right) bought two gym locations as a leap of faith – and now their faith has grown, thanks to spiritual leadership from RezFit members like Steve Parten (center).
For Lee and Pamela Pickett, stepping into a gym changed far more than their fitness routine — it changed the trajectory of their lives. What began as an ordinary gym membership eventually became the foundation for something much larger: a thriving fitness community strengthening the physical body and growing the body of Christ.
Three years ago, when the longtime owners of RezFit047 expressed a desire to step away, the Picketts felt compelled to keep the gym and its community alive. “We didn’t want to see the gym fail,” Lee recalls. “It was about the people.”
The couple took a leap of faith and bought the facility. Soon after, another gym in downtown Brandon was closing its doors. Not willing to see the community in that location separate, the Picketts bought their second gym.
“We didn’t go in there thinking we’d buy the place, just the equipment,” said Pamela. “But where were they (the people) supposed to go? We couldn’t let them split up.”
Those gyms, now known as RezFit 047 and RezFit 042, have grown into havens where physical health and a strengthened walk with Christ are fed in one space.
RezFit’s programming is grounded in functional fitness, offering multiple classes a day under Lee’s leadership as head coach. But while the workouts challenge the body, the atmosphere nurtures something deeper. The gyms are places where people feel known, supported, and encouraged — no small feat in a world where loneliness and stress often feel overwhelming.
“We’ve always prided ourselves on being a gym not just focused on physical health,” said Pamela. “We want a healthier you — physically, mentally, and spiritually.”
This vision plays out in countless small rhythms woven into RezFit’s culture. After classes, members often take a “family walk” together, a simple cool-down that has become an anchor point for life updates, testimonies, and prayer.
Over time, RezFit has quietly become a place of spiritual growth for many. Members have celebrated salvation and baptisms, reconciled relationships, and navigated personal crossroads with encouragement from their gym community. Though faith is never forced, it is deeply present — and, for many, deeply healing.
One contributor to that atmosphere is Pinelake Reservoir Campus Pastor Steve Parten, a longtime member whose steady encouragement has helped shape the culture of the early morning class at RezFit 047. After the workouts, he leads optional Bible studies, prays with members when asked, and offers support during difficult seasons. His presence is one part of a larger tapestry of care that the Picketts intentionally nurture.
Pamela credits Parten’s devotion to the Lord and obedience to the Great Commission for the spiritual growth seen at RezFit. Steve has built relationships with numerous people in the gym, leading them to salvation and baptism – Pamela and her son included.
RezFit member and Pinelake Reservoir Campus Pastor Steve Parten baptizes RezFit owner Pamela Pickett.
The Picketts, along with Parten, have molded a fitness experience that honors Christ and challenges gymgoers in body and spirit. Each Good Friday, RezFit hosts a Christ-centered Passion workout. Before major gym events, members pause to pray together. Bible studies often take place at the RezFit 047 location before and after workouts, with the community reaching out to Parten for prayer and insight regarding scripture.
The Picketts have intertwined the running of the gyms into their daily lives, and it’s no small task, especially while raising three teenage boys who are all in sports. The couple coaches, cleans, restocks, manages schedules, and often handles gym logistics from the sidelines of ballfields. But they consider the work a calling rather than a burden.
“God is working in our gym,” Pamela says. “There is no doubt in my mind.”
In RezFit 047 and RezFit 042, physical strength is only the beginning. These gyms have become places where community flourishes, faith grows, and people discover resilience they didn’t know they had. For the Picketts and their members, the gyms are proof that health is richer and more meaningful when the whole person — body, mind, and spirit — is strengthened.
Courtney and her husband, Jeremy, live in Brandon and are members at Park Place Baptist Church in Pearl. They have a daughter, Taylor, and a son, Jacob. Courtney is a full-time homemaker and can be reached at courtneyingle89@gmail.com.