Founder & President

Stephen Burnette was born in Clearwater, Florida in the mid 80’s, and was baptized at St. Brendens Catholic Church. His parents, soon after, moved to Atlanta, and settled in Sandy Springs, GA. He was the middle of five kids, and after excelling in sports in his childhood, he graduated with a Health, Physical Education and Sport Studies degree from the University of West Georgia. In college is where he first started reading the Bible on his own, and had a life changing moment, the day he finished, September 15th, 2004.

Upon graduation, he knew that he wanted to be an evangelist, and do mission work after a few years of teaching. He taught K-8th grade P.E., at a private Christian school, and coached girls’ volleyball, and basketball, as well as track and field. He got to go to Brazil on mission in the summers, after his first two years of teaching, which is where he was called to go to Asbury, to pursue a Masters degree in Divinity.

Just before going to Asbury Theological Seminary, he learned about an idea that became ‘Soul Fitness Ministries,’ and during seminary, from 2012-2016, he started combining his love for the Word of God, with his undergraduate degree, and started writing numerous books, including the Soul Fitness 4 Kids and World Revival Prayer Guide courses.

In 2015, after a Sacramental Theology class, God started bringing Mr. Burnette back to Catholicism, which he left after confirmation, many years prior. Also, during these years at Asbury, he had the opportunity to do more mission work in Brazil, Cuba, Guatemala, and Costa Rica, before going to the Holy Land for 80 days in 2016.

In Israel, he finished his Master’s program with a class called ‘The Historical and Geographical Landscape of the Bible.’ He stayed behind to serve with various ministries such as SERVE NAZARETH, Abundant Hope International, LOVE Into Action, and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. This culminated in a ten-day trip to Poland, where he helped with another FCA camp, and visited Auschwitz, another, different, life changing event.

Back in the United States in 2017, he worked in Athens, GA for a few months for a mission’s agency, and then spent three months in Brazil, (a third visit) serving the poor, in the hills, near Niteroi, Brazil, a few miles East of Rio De Janeiro. From this mission work came the book ‘77 Hours: A Christmas In Brazil.’

He helped with a Suzuki Montessori school in Atlanta, then a start-up school in Dunwoody, and later, from 2019 to 2021, at the Cumberland Christian Academy. There, he taught middle and high school students, a variety of courses such as… World Religions, History of the Church, Apologetics, Ethics, Christian Relationships, Health, Weight Training and Physical Education. This is the school that the Kendrick Brothers parents started in Mableton, Georgia. They directed the movies: War Room, Facing the Giants, Flywheel, Overcomer, and Courageous. If you haven’t seen them, they are worth watching.

In 2021, Mr. Burnette was led to start Soul Fitness Ministries, Inc. as a non-profit, instead of continuing to teach at CCA. This opened up an opportunity to move to Front Royal, Virginia, his wife’s hometown, where he worked with Seton Home Study School, and continued to lead Soul Fitness 4 Kids courses. In 2022, he also led Soul Fitness Christmas Music Events at nearly a dozen retirement facilities in Northern Virginia.

In April 2023, Stephen and Bernadette got married in the St. Mary’s Chapel at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Atlanta, Georgia.  After their honeymoon, they attempted to go out west, but the fires in Canada prevented them from doing so.  Stephen got a youth ministry job in Virginia Beach, which resulted in a book called ‘The Confirmation Speech,’ and after a season of driving for UBER, wrote ‘Uber Driving: Just One Day,’ and ‘Uber Driving: Just One Night.’ He also finally published all of his books on Amazon during this time. They had their first son, and then in early 2025, they had to move on from Virginia Beach, as their military landlords were restationed back to the area. This helped the Burnette’s re-discern the call to California, and after selling/giving away almost all their possessions, and downsizing, again, they made their way across the United States.

They travelled through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois… and up to the Twin Cities before there were more fires in Canada that produced heavy smoke, causing them to travel several hours south one day, to Des Moines, Iowa, before continuing West through Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah and finally to Sacramento, CA. The journey was filled with wonderful people, challenging times, and ministry opportunities almost daily. After a few days in Sacramento, they prayerfully made their way down to Los Angeles, arriving on Father’s Day, (June 15th) 2025.

In Los Angeles, they continued ministry at parks, libraries, stores, the beach, and at churches as he got to travel and help out numerous companies who needed part-time assistance in various roles. He continued to work on the ministry website, and the YouTube channel, which has over 350 videos, and got to start selling some of his books.

The World Revival Prayer Guide Introduction Course was started in Gardena in the Spring of 2026, and at an Assisted Living Facility in Anaheim.

In June 2026, the Burnette’s had to move again, and took the summer of 2026 to have a ‘Soul Fitness Ministries Summer Mission Trip!’ They visited all 21 California Missions the first month, making 21 videos for the Soul Fitness 4 Kids First Coloring Book, and then spent another month in Sonoma County, before traveling to Red Bluff, Redding, and from there, down to Chico, and the greater Sacramento area. Numerous ministry stories could be told during this 3 month mission trip, and the ending was having ‘The World Revival Novena,’ one page PDF document, created and distributed, emailed and shared, to hundreds and hundreds of people and churches.

Mr. Burnette continues to work towards leading groups, families, veterans and retired people in The World Revival Prayer Guide, and ministers along the way.