Kairos is . . .
Kairos Prison Ministry International, Inc. (Kairos) is a Christian faith based ministry which addresses the spiritual needs of incarcerated men, women, youth, and their families. By sharing the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ, Kairos hopes to change hearts, transform lives and impact the world. Kairos sprang from the Cursillo movement and is supported by volunteers from the 4th Day movements such as Cursillo, National Episcopal Cursillo, Presbyterian Cursillo, Lutheran Via de Cristo, The Upper Room’s Walk To Emmaus, and independently ecumenical Tres Dias as well as volunteers from independent and non-denominational churches. As a ministry, Kairos embraces a diverse group of volunteers working together to fulfill Christ’s call to action in Matthew 25:36.
Kairos is a ministry of the church … a ministry of the apostles whom Jesus, the Christ, has called into community and sent forth into the environment of the correctional institution. Kairos has been called the best example of the early church in existence today.
The Kairos program incorporates curriculum designed to build and encourage pro-social character and behavior. Society spends over $60 billion/yr. to keep more than 2.1 million inmates incarcerated men and women with nearly 650,000 people released annually, whereas the Kairos program is offered at no cost to State and Federal Institutions. It’s been said that it cost the government $1 million to keep “me” locked up and a $100 program from Kairos set “me” free.
Kairos Prison Ministry International, Inc. is a 501(C)(3) not-for-profit corporation chartered in the state of Florida.
The word, Kairos, is a Greek word meaning in God’s Special Time or in the Fullness of Time indicating an opportunity for our participants and guests to re-consider their life choices – as hearts are changed, inmates begin to take responsibility for their actions – it’s like a front row seat at a miracle – transforming lives and impacting the world.
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.
Mission
The mission of Kairos Prison Ministry is to share the transforming love of Jesus Christ to impact the hearts and lives of incarcerated men, women and youth, as well as their families, to become loving and productive citizens of their communities.
Vision
A community spiritually freed from the effects of imprisonment reaching all impacted by incarceration, through the love, hope and faith found in Jesus Christ.
Core Values
Kairos Prison Ministry Core Values guide our behavior and actions as a board, staff, and volunteers:
Lay led, Christ centered Ministry – We are Christians who believe in the Holy Trinity and honor and live the teachings of the Bible and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We conduct the ministry while inviting all to attend as Guests or Participants in Weekends and program-specific follow-on activities to build Christian Community.
Empowerment while Building Accountability – While we empower the local volunteers to conduct the ministry, we are accountable to excellence and performance at the highest standards and authority of the ministry. We empower Guests or Participants to be accountable for their lives and be transformed by Jesus Christ.
Continuing Ministry Model to Build Community – We believe in the importance of enabling relationships to build community, thus our model includes the Weekend experience, followed by Guests or Participants gathering regularly for accountability, support and prayer. The full complement of the well-defined returning model is necessary for the community to prosper.
Trustworthy – We believe that we must be honest and truthful in our personal conduct as we represent the ministry consistently and with integrity. We are obedient to God in everything we do and obedient to the guidelines of the Kairos ministry programs.
Respect and Love – We believe in respecting each person with dignity while modeling Christ love. We practice “Listen, Listen, Love, Love”.
Stewardship – We believe that we must be good stewards of our ministry’s programs, funds and resources, as well as our personal time, talent and treasures.
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 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 motivated 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.
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