Bobbie J. Cavnar was born in Oklahoma City, October 19, 1924, the son of Byron P. Cavnar and Donnia Mayberry Cavnar. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1942, one day after his eighteenth birthday. In February 1947, he landed on a frozen lake in Northern Greenland to rescue the crew of a downed B-29. He and his crew received a tickertape parade in New York City, were decorated by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and honored by a joint session of Congress and by President Harry Truman.

His 22-year Air Force career included 8 years flying with the Strategic Air Command in For Worth; carrying nuclear weapons targeted with the destruction of Moscow. He was promoted to Colonel in 1957 at the age of 33. He later served as Air Force Liason with management responsibilities for the Titan Missile program from 1960-1964. Honors included the Distinguished Flying Cross; the Legion of Merit; and a special commendation by the Secretary of Defense before Congress in 1964.

In 1964, Bobbie retired as a full Colonel in the United States Air Force. Following his retirement, he became President and Chief Executive Officer of a privately owned corporation encompassing 42 diversified companies, working with oilman D.H. Byrd and later with businessman Troy Post. After 10 years, he retired again and the most important work of his life was beginning.

At the wedding of his daughter, Mary, in 1970 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, God blessed him with the "Baptism in the Holy Spirit." Soon after his return to Dallas, he began leading a prayer meeting, which grew to become the Christian Community of God’s Delight, a lay Charismatic Covenant Community. As the leader of God’s Delight he co-founded and served as Vice-President of the Fraternity of Catholic Charismatic Covenant Communities in 1990, which was recognized by the Vatican as a Private Association of the Faithful with Papal Right.

While watching a television documentary about World War II in 1979, God sovereignly touched Bobbie and gave him a vision for using the medium of television for the evangelization of God's people throughout the world - this became his passion. He produced a documentary on the Renewal that was shown to Pope John Paul II in December 1979, and then "Viva Cristo Rey," a documentary on the miraculous work being done in Juarez, Mexico with Fr. Rick Thomas and Our Lady’s Youth Center.

With this material, the "Glory of God" weekly television program was started in 1981, as an evangelistic outreach of the Community. The effects of this entry into telecommunications and broadcasting would be felt throughout the world. From 1987 through the present, Bobbie hosted "The Way Home,'' a weekly television program. In the year 2000, we produced our 1000^th television program and last year celebrated our 20^th anniversary of broadcasting a weekly program!

In 1982 broadcast interns began to arrive in Dallas from Steubenville, Ohio, and Mexico. They were trained in television production and station management. Out of this training program grew Lumen 2000 International, of which Bobbie was co-founder and Executive Director– a consortium of Catholic producers and directors around the world, sharing resources and expertise. Their shared mission: evangelization through modern mass media.

While Lumen 2000 grew in numbers of people and countries and influence, Dallas was the training center. This training helped people from all over the globe to begin to use television and radio to spread the Good News in their own countries and regions. Hundreds of people from over 50 countries have completed their training at the Lumen 2000 School.

He served on the boards of numerous organizations, here and abroad including: Franciscan University of Steubenville, Steubenville, Ohio for twelve years; Catholic Radio and Television Network (CRTN), an organization dedicated to bringing radio and television programs to the people of Eastern Europe and the world, Germany; and Blagovest Media, a non-profit Russian Foundation for Catholic and Orthodox television, Moscow.

He was the beloved husband for 57 years of the former Margaret Louise Nishimuta, and devoted father of six children - James, Rebecca, Mary, Nicholas, Christopher, and Richard. He will be greatly missed by them and his 19 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren, by his surviving brother Richard Cavnar of Houston, and by his brothers and sisters in the Community of God's Delight and Charismatic Communities throughout the world.

We would like to share some "tributes" to Bobbie Joe Cavnar:

Father Tom Forrest, CSsR: He was certainly a wonderful and deeply inspiring man of God, and I am among the many who have learned so much from him, especially in the areas of generosity, joyful zeal, and that daring that only Christian businessmen have for launching out into the deep in order to make daring investments of time, money, and hard work for the glory of God. (As I write those words, I can hear you once more shouting out that favorite word of yours: "GLORY.")

Nick Goriachkin, Blagovest-Media, Russia: Hearts of many Russians are linked today in prayer for Bobbie Cavnar. He loved Orthodox Russia and Orthodox knew and loved him. He was loved and is loved here in Russia. We know he is with God now, but to our earthly hearts, it is a tremendous loss and a great sadness. He was a father and a brother to us and at the same time an example of a true Christian, without borders and limits.

Most Rev. John P. Foley, Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Rome: Bobbie was a person of great prayerfulness and of great dedication to spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ through the communications media. He was an inspiration to me.

Bishop Albert-Marie de Monleon, O.P., France: I had deep esteem for Bobbie and he was always so kind to me. His departure is a great loss for the Church, the Charismatic Renewal, and so many people.

Israel R. Subardiaga, Philippines: I was one of the Lumen students who passed through MSM (Dallas) and experienced the leadership, fatherly concern, love and care of Bobbie. Thank you for the faithfulness, zeal, radicalness, and relentlessness with which you loved God and served him.

Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, Rome: …such a wonderful person and servant of God. Bobbie has been "God's Delight" on earth and now he delights in God.

Fr. Jim Birmingham, SPS, Evangelization 2000, Rome: He has always been a father to us in Lumen2000/Evangelization 2000, teaching us with his fatherly care and practical wisdom, but above all by his boundless love for the many people he has ministered to and trained from every continental region around the world.

Online Posting by Kevin Lynch "I am shocked & saddened by the passing of Bobbie. I didn't know him personally, but I was aware of his faithfulness to our Lord. When he read my prayer request on the TWH webcast I knew he meant it. I praise God for this great man of faith. I hope in some small way I can help to continue Bobbie's work of faith."

Online Posting by Blanca Browne: I used to watched Mr. Cavnar's show in EWTN, and he was to me an inspiration, the way he conducted himself, the way he loved God was amazing to me. He was the first person I heard publicly placing God before anything even family. I thank him for teaching me to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to me the Father. I had him in my prayers and I will keep praying for him, even though he is in heaven and I know he will be praying for all of us. Thank you Holy Spirit for giving us Mr. Cavnar and thank you to his family for sharing him with all of us.