Echo Winter 2025 - 14

by Hannah Kahn, Ally Center Student Support
Specialist and Adjunct Professor
A
ffectionately 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.
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.' "
14 ECHO
Echo Winter 2025

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Echo Winter 2025
