Olin Fregia

Olin Fregia’s life as a model has given way to a model heart. After following God’s leading all over the United States, he has landed at Dallas Seminary.

He is in the Pastoral Ministries field, but more specifically, in the Media Arts in Ministry track. Olin has a heart for reaching the lost through media arts.

“I don’t see myself becoming a pastor. I really want to use the media as a tool to spread the gospel. We’ve got [as Christians] the best message in the universe, and the media arts track trains you to relay that message in creative ways.”

His experience with media and communication is extensive. Even in high school, he wasn’t afraid of an audience.

“I couldn’t ever throw a football or run track very well, but give me a poem, a stage, and an audience, and I’d be in heaven.”

In high school he worked at a local television station as a news anchor. He said he wanted to be Walter Cronkite.

As he entered Lamar University, his entrepreneurial skills took over and he bought the rights to a magazine named Mahogany. With a working degree in mass communication, he was able to publish the magazine weekly for 2 years.

During this time he began writing the advertising copy for Mahogany, which spring-boarded him into a full-time ad writer position in Houston. When he graduated from college, he sold the magazine and moved to Houston. After 3 years Olin moved again to be the branch manager in Dallas with the same company. In his fifth year, that job ended abruptly.

“At that point I worshiped my career, so God yanked that position right out from under me. All I could think was ‘What will I do next?’”

God intervened again—a modeling agency approached him about being a model. His first reaction was that he wouldn’t like it, but decided to follow through on it anyway. In the beginning he did mostly print jobs, but the more he did it, the more he started doing runway work and commercials. Because of his inconsistent income he was forced to rely on God.

Soon his modeling career took off. He traveled all over the United States for various modeling assignments.

“If you’re a model, you have to be a gypsy.”

At this point he was starting to take his relationship with the Lord more seriously. He wanted to be more involved in church, and he started feeling a calling to work with inner city kids.

“I realized that I had misapplied my talent in selling ‘soup and soap,’ so I redirected it to sell the best message in the world.”

The church he had been attending took him on as youth director and he made decision about his work. He told his agent to not book him for any more liquor or cigarette campaigns, trusting that God would make up the difference—and He did. It was at this point that God started tugging his heart toward DTS.

He heard of DTS through a friend, but had decided against further education. The main problem with attending was money. After the Lord changed his heart and he decided to go, God made it very clear that it was the right choice.

“My commitment was what God was looking for, then He opened up the door.”

Olin sat down to talk with a benefactor he met through a friend, and at the end of their conversation she wrote him a check for $2000. Through her generosity, along with a scholarship, he has made it almost all the way through school.

God further confirmed his decision by placing professor Reg Grant in his life. He became a mentor to Olin, because he lives out his creative approach to ministry.

“Reg is a lot of who I want to be.”

As Olin began his career at DTS, he also began working with Inner-city Bible Ministry. Within his youth director position he noticed the lack of children from the neighborhood surrounding his church. There were no inner-city kids. Soon he became a teacher with the Bible ministry, and now is leading youth into taking the next step and attending church.

“My job there is to plant seeds, even if I don’t always get to see the fruit.”

Olin plans to finish his master’s degree at Dallas Seminary in the fall of 2004. After graduation he has hopes of publishing the biography of a man who paid the penalty for his twin brother’s crime. Over a year ago he heard the testimony of this man and decided he wanted to write his story. He has started writing the book already. He also sees producing in his future—television or radio.

Olin will take life lessons with him after graduation.

“I really couldn’t have done Seminary without God. You have to fully trust Him. I’ve learned that it really is all about God, not me.”