Who is Kairos

Kairos has more than 30,000 volunteers who serve in 500+ prisons and communities in 37 states and 9 foreign countries. Kairos sprang from the Cursillo movement and is supported by volunteers from 4th Day ministries such as Cursillo, Via de Cristo, Walk To Emmaus, and Tres Dias as well as volunteers from Christian churches.

Kairos is blessed with a diverse group of volunteers working together to fulfill Christ's call to action in Matthew 25:36. It has been said that Kairos is the one ministry where volunteers work together as the Body of Christ and set aside denominational differences to serve together and to embody the true meaning of church.

Please enjoy watching this video for an Overview of the Three Programs within the Kairos Ministry. Kairos Goree is one prison unit within the Kairos Inside Program.

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.

Mission

The mission of the Kairos Prison Ministry is to share the transforming love and forgiveness 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.

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. Kairos stands on the common ground of the following elements of faith:

  • 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.

This is a wonderful follow-up to the above Overview of the Kairos Prison Ministry video above that speaks to the origins of Kairos, going back to the spiritual needs that came out of the first world war.

Kairos History

The history of Kairos begins with the first three day “short course in Christianity” inside Union Correctional Institution at Raiford, Florida in the fall of 1976. It was called "Cursillo" in Prison. By 1978, six states were presenting a Cursillo short course in prisons. Today Kairos has built upon its firm foundation of the word of God to what we have today.

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.

Listen

Listen,

Love

Love ---

Listen Listen, Love Love ---