About Kairos Prison Ministry
Our Mission
The mission of the Kairos Prison Ministry is to bring Christ's love
and forgiveness to all incarcerated individuals, their families and
those who work with them, and to assist in the transition of becoming a
productive citizen.
Kairos is…
- Christian: Kairos volunteers represent the Christian faith and present a Christian perspective.
- Ecumenical: Kairos volunteers come from many Christian denominations, but present only those principles that all share in common.
- Lay-led: Kairos leadership is drawn from lay persons, although clergy play a vital role.
- Volunteer: Kairos is an overwhelmingly volunteer organization, with over 20,000 volunteers worldwide.
- Ministry: Kairos ministers to incarcerated individuals, their families, and those who work with them.
Kairos Prison Ministry International Statement of Faith
The people of Kairos are called by God to share the love of Christ
with those impacted by incarceration. Kairos encourages believers from a
variety of Christian traditions to be volunteers in this Christ-filled
ministry. Kairos programs offer to prison residents, their families, and
those who work with them, the opportunity to receive God’s forgiveness
through faith in Jesus Christ, and to grow in their faith and
servanthood in Christian community. We stand on the common ground of
the following elements of faith. We in Kairos believe:
- The Bible is God’s authoritative and inspired word for our faith and our lives.
- In the Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- In the deity, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ
- Friendship with God is a free gift, for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
- The love of Jesus Christ motivates His followers to provide food for the hungry, drink to the thirsty, welcome to the stranger, clothes for the naked, and visits to the sick and those in prison.
- In sharing the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ with all incarcerated individuals, their families and to those who work with them inside and outside the correctional institution.
The Strategy Of Kairos Inside
The Inside Program strategy brings positive and negative leaders
of the institution together for a 3-1/2 day weekend event of carefully
coordinated talks, discussions, chapel meditations, and music led by the
loving servant spirit of the volunteers. It is useful to think of the
Weekend as a series of carefully planned events that flow one to
another. For many Participants, this experience creates the desire to
become a Christian and for others the desire to continue his/her
personal Christian growth. After the Weekend, the Inside Program
continues by helping the Participants establish small, 3 to 6 person
Prayer and Share Groups within the institution. These small groups meet
weekly to share their lives on a deep spiritual level and to pray for
one another, other residents, their loved ones, and the staff of the
institution. The Inside Program consists of five key components:
- 3-1/2-Day Weekend
- Instructional Reunion
- Weekly Prayer and Share Group Fellowship
- Monthly Reunion
- Semi Annual Retreats
As the following diagram illustrates, the heart of the Ministry is the on-going, weekly Prayer and Share Group Fellowship that occurs within the growing Kairos Community in the institution. All other elements of the Inside Program are aimed at enabling or supporting the Prayer and Share Group Fellowship.
A Kairos Prison Ministry Video
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