Kairos Prison Ministry

Not to be confused with Kairos (retreat), a related three-day movement for high school and college students.

Kairos Prison Ministry is an international organization conducting 4th Day movement programs for people serving in prisons. It began in 1976 under the name of "Cursillo in Prison," first offered in Raiford, Florida.[1] It was renamed to "Kairos" in 1979, which means "In God's Special Time."[2]

Attendees of all faiths are welcome. The Kairos program currently operates in more than 400 prisons worldwide, in the 35 states in the USA, United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru and Canada, through the work of over 30,000 volunteers.

Organization

There are three programs in the Kairos ministry: Kairos Inside, for inmates; Kairos Outside, for women impacted by incarceration; and Kairos Torch, for youthful offenders.

The Kairos Inside program is a Weekend that consists of carefully structured talks, meditations, and individual and group activities led by same gender volunteers. Through the work of volunteers, Kairos Prison Ministry brings the love, hope and faith of Jesus Christ into the lives of prisoners and their families. They learn they are forgiven, and they learn they are loved. For many participants, the Kairos Weekend creates the desire to become a Christian, and for others the desire to continue his/her spiritual growth. It is truly a life changing, and often life saving experience.[3]

The Kairos Inside program brings positive and negative leaders together, in both male and female institutions, for a 3 ½ day Weekend led by same gender Kairos volunteers. The program concept is to build the Christian community inside the institution where the Kairos Community prays and fellowships together on a regular basis. These are called “Prayer-and-Share” Groups and meet weekly. As the Kairos Christian community inside a prison grows and begins to gain influence, the incidence of violence decreases. In addition, each month Kairos volunteers return for a “Reunion” of the entire Kairos community. The fact that Kairos returns again and again to each prison is what distinguishes Kairos from other prison ministries. Without the follow up support, the efforts of the 3 ½ day retreat would quickly be lost to the prison environment.[4]

Kairos Outside offers a comfortable, non-judging retreat for women to support each other as they journey through the incarceration of a friend or relative. The Kairos Outside Weekend is a 2 ½ day program based on a series of talks by volunteers designed to address the pain of enduring separation from the one inside and the judgment of others from their community. Guests hear the talks in small family groups. They then continue to meet in small groups to foster Christian community. After the Weekend, the women journey together through SWAP (Share, Witness, Account & Pray) and Reunion meetings. They support and encourage each other as they deal with the impact of prison on themselves and their families.[5]

The Kairos Torch program begins with a Weekend retreat in the youth detention center or correctional facility for youth 25 and under. The mission is to engage their reasoning skills in seeking balance for their lives. Torch team volunteers commit to a weekly mentoring process with the youthful offenders for six months after the Weekend. Kairos Torch helps the youth participants begin to make constructive life choices and establish positive relationships — all of which result in hope of the future and a chance to break the cycle of crime.[6]

Impact

There are a lot of ways to calculate recidivism, and many criteria that up for discussion, such as only including convictions for a similar offense or including any person fingerprinted, regardless of outcome. In a study of 505 Florida inmates, the recidivism rate was 10% among those who had participated in two or more Kairos sessions, 15.7% among those who had participated in one Kairos session, and 23.4% among the non-Kairos control group.[7] Over a two year period, one South Carolina prison reported a 55%-62% recidivism rate for the general population, and a 20%-30% recidivism rate for Kairos graduates.[8] The exact criteria used for recidivism in both of these was not disclosed.

External links

References

  1. ↑ "Kairos History". Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Kairos History". Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Our Approach to Prison Ministry". Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Kairos Inside Prison Ministry". Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Kairos Outside Womens Program". Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Kairos Torch Youth Prison Ministry". Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  7. ↑ "KPMI Website FAQ". Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  8. ↑ Statistics taken from ALLENDALE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION newsletters and updates, 2014-2015, "Allendale SC Institution Page". Retrieved August 6, 2015.
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