What Happens at a Kairos Prison Retreat? Tomorrow I enter the State Prison for a four-day retreat with the Kairos ministry. Kairos is a Greek word meaning “the opportune time,” or “the meaningful moment.” I hope that God uses this time to touch the lives of inmates at Northeast Correctional in Mountain City. I’m thankful for the cookies you have baked for the guys and for your prayers. Let me take a moment to let you know what really happens on a Kairos retreat.
A group of about fifty people from this area have been meeting and planning for the past eight weeks for this retreat. Our ministry team consists of thirty five guys who will work on the inside of the prison and a team of support folks who will run logistics on the outside. Hopwood’s Steve Nice is the coordinator of this group. Thirty five inmates have been selected from a long list of applicants to participate in the Kairos Retreat. This group will be divided into tables of six inmates and three outside leaders who will stick together through the whole weekend. Inmates who attended previous Kairos Retreats will serve as helpers during the day.
The Kairos team goes into the prison each morning at 7:30 and stays through the day, coming out at 9:00 PM. Seventy or eighty of us jam into a fairly small room where we spend the day singing songs of praise, praying, participating in a series of talks and discussions about living faithfully for Christ. The day is punctuated with meaningful activities designed to break through the inmates’ reserve and allow them to experience the life-changing grace of our Lord. Two home cooked meals are brought in each day from our outside support team, bringing great joy to the residents…and our guys are treated to a mountain of home made cookies as well. Each day we spend time listening and loving and learning from the inmates, and we share our hearts as well. One of my favorite moments is carrying packs of cookies to each inmate, each cell on the compound. I always tell them that they are baked with a lot of prayer and a lot of love.
At night, the team spreads out to area hotels or some of us sleep on the floor at a church down the road. The days are long and cramped and tiring, but the payoff is seeing Christ’s love pour down on our new friends. Many of these men have never experienced the gospel as “good news,” and the message of forgiveness and love and reconciliation is often overpowering…for them and for us team members.
After the retreat is over, the wider Kairos team continues to meet weekly with the men who have participated in one of these retreats, encouraging them to join small prayer and share groups and to keep growing in their faith. Statistics show that inmates who invest at a high level of involvement have a recidivism rate of less than 20%.
Why do I go on Kairos retreats? I go because Jesus said to go (Mt 25). I go because the preacher of Hebrews said to remember prisoners as if you yourself were there with them (Hebrews 13:3). I go because I love to watch peoples’ hearts melt under the influence of God’s grace. I go to hear the stories of people Jesus loves. I go to be reminded of just how transformative a relationship with Christ can really be. Keep me in your prayers. And let me know if you’d like to participate in a bigger way.
