Kairos Prison Ministry at Neal Unit of Amarillo, Texas
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. Click here to join our mission.
Kairos Prison Ministry International, Inc. (KPMI) 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. KPMI 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.
KPMI 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. KPMI has been called the best example of the early church in existence today.
Kairos Inside is composed of well-organized and well-trained volunteer teams of men and women from the communities surrounding an institution present an introductory 3-day weekend, described as a short course in Christianity. This inter-denominational team of volunteers - both clergy and laypersons - works in cooperation with the Chaplain who carefully selects up to 42 inmate leaders to attend. Well organized follow-up is part of this program.
The Kairos program incorporates curriculum designed to build and encourage pro-social character and behavior. Society spends over $60 billion/yr. to keep 2.3 million inmates incarcerated, 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.
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.
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Kairos 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.
"...I Was in Prison and You Visited Me" - Matthew 25:36
Kairos Prison weekends grew out of early attempts to launch movements in prisons similar to the three-day movements in the sacramental churches of the free-world. The ministry of Kairos was preceded by an ecumenical Emmaus/Cursillo tradition.
From this tradition a model was developed which could be presented in any prison without changing the content or format. It was aimed specifically at one environment: that of correctional institutions.
According to the Kairos method, at Neal we volunteer for two four-day weekends per year, one in April and another in October, where we go into the prison and spend four days getting to know forty-two incarcerated men and deliver them God's message of hope and love.
It's advantageous if team members, lay and clergy have had an Emmaus/Cursillo/Via de Cristo/Tres Dias experience. In addition, inside team members are asked to commit themselves to one year's participation. Much of the ministry is carried on as the team members return to strengthen the Kairos prison community.
At the Neal unit, the inside team is made up of men only. The outside team is made up of men and women. The inside and outside teams make up our weekend team. All team members attend the Closing, which is open to anyone invited by a team member and approved by the warden. Each 3-day lay Leader has applications for the closing, which must be cleared by the prison before attending the closing.
There is a tremendous need for new Kairos team members, both lay volunteers and clergy. Please prayerfully consider answering Christ's call to minister to those who are in prison. Kairos needs you.
Christ needs you!