Jeff Cavins (born November 8, 1957) is an American

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

evangelist, author, and biblical scholar.

Overview

Cavins was a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

pastor before he rejoined the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He is the creator of ''The Great Adventure Bible Study program''. He was the founding host of the Television Show ''Life on the Rock'' on

EWTN The Eternal Word Television Network, more commonly known by its initials EWTN, is an American basic cable television network which presents around-the-clock Catholic-themed programming. It is not only the largest Catholic television network in ...

and was a host of the Morning Air radio program on

Relevant Radio Relevant Radio (corporate name Relevant Radio, Inc.) is a radio network in the United States, mainly broadcasting talk radio and religious programming involving the Catholic Church. It is the largest Catholic radio network by owned station base. R ...

. He resides in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Biography

Early life

Cavins grew up outside of

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

in a Catholic family. In college, he met his future wife Emily. While attending Christ for the Nations Institute, he noticed how many born-again Christians were attracted to the Bible, unlike the adherents of his own faith, whom he felt were "dead." He subsequently left the Church after a public dispute with a Catholic bishop.

Evangelical pastor

While working for a Christian radio station, Cavins trained as a Protestant pastor. After completing a program at The Institute of Ministry in Bradenton, Florida, he returned to Minnesota as the first pastor of Open Arms ministry. While there, he developed the first iteration of his Bible Timeline program, which focuses on understanding the narrative books of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

, using a color-coded timeline to display the supporting books for each element. This later became the basis for his ''Great Adventure Bible Study'' program.

Return to Catholicism and Steubenville

Cavins decided to return to the Catholic Church after twelve years as an evangelical pastor. In 1996 he introduced his Great Adventure Bible Timeline to

Franciscan University of Steubenville Franciscan University of Steubenville is a private Franciscan university in Steubenville, Ohio. The university had 3,040 students as of fall 2019, including 2,317 students on campus, in 40 undergraduate and 8 graduate degree programs. The studen ...

, where he taught Introduction to Scripture. Later that year, Franciscan University professor Scott Hahn partnered with him to film ''Our Father's Plan'', a thirteen-part series based on the Timeline program, to be broadcast on the EWTN Global Catholic Network. Cavins received his MA in theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville in 1999.

Evangelization projects

The Great Adventure Bible Study Program

Cavins developed ''The Great Adventure Bible Study'' program, which organizes the

into a reading plan structured on the narrative parts of the text.

Podcast

''The Great Adventure Bible Timeline'' was used, in 2021, as the framework for the popular ''

The Bible in a Year ''The Bible in a Year'' is an American podcast hosted by Fr. Mike Schmitz, a Catholic priest based in Duluth, Minnesota. About The podcast was created and recorded daily throughout 2021. Each of the 365 episodes discussed different aspects of ...

'' podcast, hosted by Father

Mike Schmitz Michael Thomas Schmitz (born December 14, 1974) is an American Roman Catholic priest, speaker, author, and podcaster. The Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries in the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota, Schmitz is most notable for his social ...

with some commentary by Cavins. The podcast was the number-one podcast in America for seventeen days in 2021 and for five days in 2022.

Television

Mother Angelica Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation (born Rita Antoinette Rizzo; April 20, 1923 – March 27, 2016), also known as Mother Angelica, was an American Roman Catholic nun of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration. She was best known for the t ...

, then president of

, asked Cavins to develop a weekly live program for young people. The Cavins family moved to

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, and launched ''Life on the Rock'', which he hosted for six years.

Books

Cavins has authored a number of books: * ''My Life on the Rock, Walking with God: A Journey Through the Bible'' * ''I’m Not Being Fed! Discovering the Food the Satisfies the Soul'' * ''Praise God and Thank Him: Biblical Keys to a Joyful Life'' * ''When You Suffer: Biblical Keys for Hope and Understanding'' * ''Pope Fiction: Answers to 30 Myths & Misconceptions About the Papacy'' (with Patrick Madrid) * ''The Activated Disciple: Taking Your Faith to the Next Level'' He has co-edited the ''Amazing Grace'' series of books.

Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

In 2008 he took over as director of the Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Catechetical Institute in St. Paul, Minnesota, which prepares adults for teaching catechetics in the home, at parishes, and in parochial schools. In 2014, Cavins was named director of evangelization for the

Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis ( la, Archidiœcesis Paulopolitana et Minneapolitana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. It is led by an archbishop who administers ...

Year of Mercy

In 2016, Cavins presented a video reflection as part of a multi-part series in response to the

Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy The Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy ( la, Iubilaeum Extraordinarium Misericordiae) was a Catholic period of prayer held from 8 December 2015, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, to 20 November 2016, the Feast of Christ the King. Like pre ...

declared by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

Detroit Amazing Parish Conference

In April 2016, Cavins was a featured panelist at the Amazing Parish Conference, speaking to parishes in the

Archdiocese of Detroit The Archdiocese of Detroit ( la, Archidiœcesis Detroitensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church covering the Michigan counties of Lapeer, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne. It is ...

about ways that parishes can engage their parishioners to become more involved with the church.

Awards

* "Envoy of the Year" for Excellence in Evangelization, 1997 * "Unity Award" for best Catholic television show, 2000 * "Christ Brings Hope Award" from Relevant Radio

Personal life

Cavins is married to Emily, with whom he has three daughters.

External links

Official website

''Great Adventure Bible''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cavins, Jeff 1957 births Living people American biblical scholars American Roman Catholic religious writers Christian apologists Former evangelicals Franciscan University of Steubenville alumni Franciscan University of Steubenville faculty