Struggling with Words at a Young Age, Oliver Fallins Now Consumes the Word of God
This article originally appeared in the Winter 2025 issue of The ECHO Magazine.
Affectionately known as “Pastor OJ,” Oliver Fallins (’26) is a husband, father, pastor, student and president of LBC’s Student Council in Philadelphia. While Fallins is a leader among his classmates, pursuing higher education has been no easy feat. When he graduated from high school in 2001, he could not read, but God had great plans for him. Today, Fallins is in the process of writing his first book.
Affectionately known as “Pastor OJ,” Oliver Fallins (’26) is a husband, father, pastor, student and president of LBC’s Student Council in Philadelphia.
A native of Philadelphia, Fallins grew up as a “pastor’s kid,” learning from his grandmother’s ministry. During his childhood, Fallins learned about the Bible by asking his grandmother questions. “Asking what Scripture meant gave me a spark for learning the Word,” he said. “Growing up in North Philly was not the best of scenes, [but] thank God many of those people are part of the church today.”
Fallins traces how God worked mightily in his life by calling him to learn to read. “God called me to work on my ability to read, so I rented an electronic dictionary. My wife played a pivotal role in cultivating literacy for me. Through those experiences, I felt her love for God and me, and she motivated and helped me read my first book, ‘The Purpose Driven Life.’”
When Fallins found LBC through a Facebook advertisement, he was self-teaching and self-studying Scripture as the church planter and pastor of Changing Lives for Christ Church in Philadelphia. He felt the pull of the Holy Spirit, and despite his academic struggles in high school, he was admitted to LBC after conversations with David Lingham (’25), Manager Recruitment & Admissions and Adjunct Professor in Philadelphia.
Fallins earned a Concentrated Bible Certificate in December 2023 and credits his experience at graduation the following May as his inspiration to keep pursuing further education. “It was such a humbling experience,” he said. “I’d never been to a place like that before. I remember going back to the hotel where we were staying, and my wife said, ‘I want you to go all the way through the doctorate level.’” While Fallins has big dreams, he expressed wanting to take his education “step by step.”
Fallins shared that the process of becoming acclimated to college was difficult, especially in his first two classes. Yet, with “all glory to God,” he persevered and in his role as Student Council, Fallins and the other officers organize chapel services and ministry opportunities for the Philadelphia students, including the Thanksgiving Basket Drive in which they gather donations from the LBC community to bless those in need with a basket of food for Thanksgiving dinner, including a gift card to a local grocery store for a turkey.
Prior to attending LBC, Fallins shared, “there were so many [scriptural] things I was using out of context. It’s important to know the context of promises in the Bible. I had to unlearn and be retaught so much about Scripture.”
Fallins describes his LBC education as, “Phenomenal. I can see a difference in my studies and communication; I’ve been noticing growth in our congregation,” which celebrated a five-year anniversary as a church in October 2024. Fallins has noticed theological changes, too, in “connecting the entire Bible as a whole story. Take the Abraham account and connect that in typology to Christ.”
Fallins is so passionate about the quality of a Lancaster Bible College education that he has recruited four more students to join LBC: his wife, Lov’Lee Fallins (‘28); his sister, Nnakiarah Veal (‘28); an elder from his church, Marvin Carr (‘26); and a member of his church, Monica Ford (‘28).
“Seeing my passion increasing,” Fallins reflected, “they’re being challenged in their calling and want to take that same journey, [while] some of them want to know more about God from a theological perspective and exegete text.”
Fallins’ enthusiasm for LBC is rooted in its Bible-based education. “This is a theologically sound school. They start and end with the Bible. Now, many colleges just use the Bible as a resource, so I appreciate LBC for making the Bible the source.
“Every other subject is surrounded by the Word,” he continued. “Yes, we learn sociology, math and regular subjects, and I thank God that they stay true to their name. Being a lover of the Word of God, that is huge. Everyone I’ve referred has had the same feelings—that LBC comes back to the Bible.”
Fallins encourages those considering going back to school with these words: “If that is the direction from the Holy Spirit, go on it. Don’t allow yourself to get in the way, because we can allow ourselves to waste time.”