The Denver Graduate School That Built a "Catholic Netflix" and Changed How Millions Encounter the Faith
What happens when a Scripture scholar decides the Church needs more than another theology program—it needs a media revolution?
Meet Augustine Institute—a Catholic graduate school and media apostolate in Denver, Colorado, that has quietly become one of the most influential forces in Catholic evangelization since its founding in 2005. What started as a bold vision by Dr. Tim Gray to form a new generation of Catholic leaders has grown into an institution that reaches millions worldwide through graduate education, parish resources, and its groundbreaking streaming platform, FORMED.
From a Scholar's Dream to a Movement
In the early 2000s, Dr. Tim Gray saw a crisis unfolding across American Catholicism. Parishes were struggling to catechize. Young adults were leaving the faith in record numbers. And the faithful who remained were hungry for deeper formation but had few accessible options.
Gray, a renowned Catholic Scripture scholar, envisioned something different: not just another seminary or graduate school, but an institution built from the ground up for the New Evangelization—the call issued by Pope John Paul II for Catholics to bring the Gospel to the modern world with renewed energy and creativity.
In 2005, the Augustine Institute opened its doors in Denver, Colorado, offering a Master of Arts in Biblical Theology and Evangelization. The location was no accident. Denver's Catholic community had been energized by World Youth Day in 1993 and the dynamic leadership of Archbishop Charles Chaput. It was fertile ground for a new kind of Catholic institution.
More Than a Graduate School
What makes the Augustine Institute remarkable is the breadth of its mission. The graduate school offers rigorous academic programs, including a Master of Arts in Theology and various certificate programs designed for lay Catholics who want deeper formation without relocating to a seminary campus.
But the classroom is only the beginning. The Augustine Institute recognized early on that reaching the pews required more than academic papers—it required media. And so the institution built out an entire content studio.
Augustine Institute Studios has become a prolific producer of Catholic films, documentaries, and educational series. Their productions—covering everything from the sacraments to the lives of the saints—are designed to be accessible, beautiful, and doctrinally sound. They represent a serious Catholic answer to the question: "Where is our content?"
FORMED: The Platform That Changed Everything
If you've been in a Catholic parish in the last decade, you've almost certainly heard of FORMED. Launched by the Augustine Institute, FORMED is a digital platform that provides parishes, dioceses, and individuals with on-demand access to thousands of Catholic films, audio talks, e-books, and study programs.
Often described as a "Catholic Netflix," FORMED has been adopted by thousands of parishes across the United States and around the world. It has become a go-to resource for RCIA programs, Bible studies, homeschool families, and individual Catholics seeking to grow in their faith.
The genius of FORMED lies in its parish-level subscription model. When a parish subscribes, every parishioner gets free access. This removes the cost barrier for individual families and creates a shared resource that strengthens the entire community.
The Curriculum at the Heart
At its academic core, the Augustine Institute remains committed to the integration of Scripture, theology, philosophy, and pastoral practice. Students don't just study theology in the abstract—they study it for the sake of mission. Every program is oriented toward equipping graduates to go out and serve the Church, whether as catechists, directors of religious education, campus ministers, or lay leaders.
The faculty includes prominent Catholic scholars and authors who are themselves active in evangelization. This creates a unique culture where academic rigor meets apostolic zeal.
Symbolon, Lectio, and the Parish Toolkit
Beyond streaming content, the Augustine Institute has developed structured parish programs that have been adopted across the country. Symbolon is a comprehensive faith formation series designed for RCIA, adult education, and small group study. Walking participants through the core teachings of the Catholic faith, Symbolon has become a staple in parishes that want to go deeper than a single-session overview.
Lectio is a series of Bible study programs that guide participants through books of Scripture with scholarly depth and pastoral warmth. Each series combines video presentations with guided discussion, making it accessible for parish groups of any size.
These programs represent the Augustine Institute's understanding that evangelization doesn't happen only through individual consumption of content. It happens in community—around tables, in parish halls, and in living rooms where Catholics gather to learn and grow together.
A Denver Landmark with Global Reach
From its campus in the Denver area, the Augustine Institute now reaches millions. Through FORMED subscriptions, studio productions, and a growing network of alumni serving in parishes and dioceses around the world, the Institute's influence extends far beyond Colorado.
The institution has also partnered with dioceses to develop customized formation programs, helping bishops address the specific catechetical and evangelical needs of their local churches.
What began as one scholar's vision in 2005 has become a multi-faceted apostolate touching virtually every dimension of Catholic life—from the graduate classroom to the parish hall, from the smartphone screen to the family dinner table. In a Church that often struggles to communicate its own richness, the Augustine Institute has built the tools that make that communication possible.
Why This Matters
The Augustine Institute has done something no other Catholic institution has managed at the same scale: it combined rigorous graduate theology with a media platform that reaches millions of ordinary Catholics in their parishes and living rooms. FORMED alone has transformed how thousands of parishes approach catechesis, Bible study, and RCIA. Without the Augustine Institute, the Church in America would lack its most effective bridge between academic theology and the faith formation that happens in the pews. Their model -- seminary-level scholarship made accessible through film, streaming, and structured parish programs -- is one of the most consequential Catholic innovations of the 21st century.
How You Can Support
- Visit their website at augustineinstitute.org to learn about graduate programs, studio productions, and parish resources.
- Ask your parish about subscribing to FORMED if they haven't already—or encourage fellow parishioners to explore the content that's already available.
- Share FORMED content with friends, family, and anyone curious about the Catholic faith. The platform is designed for exactly this kind of personal evangelization.
- Consider their graduate programs if you or someone you know is discerning deeper theological formation.
- Follow them on social media and share their content to help amplify Catholic voices in the digital space.
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Have you used FORMED or any Augustine Institute resources in your parish or home? What's your favorite program or series? Tell us in the comments!
Augustine Institute Denver, Colorado Website: augustineinstitute.org FORMED: formed.org Facebook: Augustine Institute Twitter/X: @augustineinst DCB Listing: Find Augustine Institute on Discover Catholic Business
Sources: Augustine Institute, FORMED, Discover Catholic Business