Jeff Cavins

Early life

Cavins grew up outside of Minneapolis; Catholicism was central to his family's life. In college, he met his fiancé, Emily. While attending Christ for the Nations Institute, he noticed how many born-again Christians were attracted to the Bible. This contrasted with how he saw his own faith. In his words, he was looking at " 'dead' people in the pews next to me, constantly comparing this and the 'on fire' pentecostal worship services." This led him to leave the faith, which he did after having a public fallout with a Catholic bishop.

Evangelical Pastor

While working for a Christian Radio Station, Cavins pursued a career as a pastor, and after completing a program at The Institute of Ministry in Bradenton, Florida, 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, 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 following twelve years as an evangelical pastor. In 1996 he introduced his Great Adventure Bible Timeline to Franciscan University of Steubenville where he taught Introduction to Scripture. Later that year, Franciscan University professor Dr. Scott Hahn teamed up with Cavins to film “Our Father’s Plan,” a 13-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.

The Great Adventure Bible Study Program

In 1999, Cavins returned to Minnesota with his family and began to teach Bible studies at various parishes. In 2001, he brought the Bible Timeline to Matt Pinto, President of Ascension Press, to have it and other Bible Studies produced and distributed. The Great Adventure Bible studies currently include: The Bible Timeline, Unlocking the Mystery of the Bible, Follow Me: Meeting Jesus in the Gospel of John, Matthew, Acts, James, Galatians, Revelation, and Psalms as well as Walking Toward Eternity: Making Choices For Today.

Television

Mother Angelica, then president of EWTN, asked Cavins to develop a weekly live program for young people. At this point, the Cavins family moved to Birmingham, AL where EWTN is located, and started "Life on the Rock” which he hosted for six years.

Author

Cavins has authored a number of books including My Life on the Rock, Walking with God: A Journey Through the Bible, I'm Not Being Fed, the Amazing Grace Series, Praise God and Thank Him: Biblical Keys to a Joyful Life, and When You Suffer

Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis

In 2014, Cavins was named Director of Evangelization for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

In 2008 he began as the Director of the Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Catechetical Institute in St. Paul, MN. So far, the Institute has graduated over six hundred adult students who are now prepared for teaching Catechetics in the home, at parishes, and in parochial schools.

Year of Mercy

In 2016, Cavins presented a video reflection as part of a multi-part series offering guidance for thousands of viewers as a response to the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy declared by Pope Francis.

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

Educational Background

Biblical Certification: Christ for the Nations Institute, Dallas, Texas
Broadcasting Degree: Brown Institute, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Pastoral Certification: Institute of Ministry, Bradenton, Florida
Bachelor of Arts (Humanities/Classics): Antioch University, Yellow Springs, Ohio
Master of Theology with Catechetical Certification: Franciscan University of Steubenville, Steubenville, Ohio

Awards