Real models

Here’s a good story about some beautiful people turning their ability to get attention into an opportunity more for others than themselves.

The bodies at this Saturday-night gathering are sculpted, the locks of hair full and wavy, the faces made for the covers of magazines. 

It’s heavenly. Such physical perfection is a South Beach staple, on its sandy, sun-kissed shoreline, and in its thumping, velvet-roped dance clubs. But these young men and women, blessed with camera-ready exteriors, are here not to find a weekend hookup or to imbibe a $15 drink. They’re here for God.

Since its 1984 founding in New York, Models for Christ has sought to bring faith to fashion — spirituality and sanctity to an industry driven by sex and selfishness. The nondenominational organization has since expanded to 19 other major fashion centers, including Los Angeles, London, Paris, Tokyo and Milan, Italy. Hundreds participate.

“This work can lead anyone away from the Lord,” said Jeremiah Johnson, a former model who leads the group’s Miami Beach chapter. “But it doesn’t have to.”

A lot of work these days can lead people away from their faith and values, but simple as it sounds, “it doesn’t have to.” You just have to step up.

Jeff and Laura Calenberg were both models when they founded Models for Christ — online at www.modelsforchrist.com — with a small group of participants. Mr. Calenberg said he wanted to provide a gathering place for Christians in the industry and set an example for those not necessarily living a spiritual life.

“The business has a lot of darkness in it,” said Mr. Calenberg, now a fashion photographer. “As a believer in Christ, we are seeking to maintain the light within us as well as shine toward others.” 

Mr. Calenberg said there are countless stories of people who have been transformed by the group and led away from lives of substance abuse and promiscuity. 

“We’ve seen some people’s lives change totally,” he said. 

At a recent Models for Christ meeting, Heather Funk, 34, a fashion photographer based in Miami, told her own story of club-hopping, and drug and alcohol abuse. She eventually became a Christian.

“The fashion industry, there’s so many extremes in it. The models are extremely beautiful, extremely skinny, make tons of money,” she said. “It may seem an unlikely place to find God, but really it’s not.”

Personal witness is usually a powerful way to reach people who wouldn’t otherwise listen to a message about morality and God. Especially in a culture that worships beauty and soaks up entertainment. Just ask Barb Nicolosi out in Hollywood.

Beauty attracts. Especially when it comes from the inside out.