Dr. Jim Hofman (“the Professor”) is an Evangelical pastor in La Pine, Oregon, the Awana Kids Club Ministry Director for their church, and has been a communications professor at Central Oregon Community College in Bend, Oregon, since 2009.

Dr. Hofman gave up traveling as a professional magician in 1980. As a full-time performer with a corporate sponsor, he was doing 3-6 shows a day. He returned to Fresno, California, married his wife, Patti, and in 1981, they moved to Portland, Oregon to attend graduate school at Western Seminary.

Dr. Jim Hofman (“The Professor”) is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Magicians, International. This is a group of Christian performers of illusions, juggling, clowning, ventriloquism, chalk-drawing artists, and other creative ways to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You can check out this wonderful group of communicators at: https://www.fcm.org

FUN FACT #1: In 1978, as a young college kid, Jim received the rare honor of being initiated into the Society of American Magicians by their Hollywood Assembly. (He just happened to be in the right place at the right time - plus he knew somebody who was related to someone famous and the Hollywood magicians wanted to do THAT person a favor…) Jim’s un-earned but very high honor led to him being invited in January of 1979 to attend a meeting of London’s Magic Circle (the world’s most prestigious / exclusive gathering of magicians) - which he did while grinning from ear to ear.

FUN FACT #2: In 2008, Jim performed his most memorable magic show in a very remote jungle of a tiny and remote island of Indonesia (Halmahara Island) for a tribe of cannibals (the Tugutil people of the Lili Tribe.) Jim, and his wife Patti, were brought into the tribe by New Tribe Missionaries, Keith and Anita Miles. One evening, Keith asked Jim to perform a magic show for the tribe. Knowing that the tribe had lived in fear of their shamen and witch-doctors (for many years) by using tricks like a magician does, Jim was reluctant. But Keith assured Jim that he would explain that Jim’s magic was for entertainment, and not manipulative control. Jim performed and watched Habianna (the Tribe’s chief) and his mother, who were both sitting on the front row laughing and shouting with astonishment. The other tribe members joined-in and Jim is still alive to perform more shows.