Special Ministries

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3 1/2 Days of Heaven in Hell
Why would anyone volunteer to spend 3 1/2 days in a maximum security prison? For no other reason than to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to 42 inmates. What is Kairos and what do cookies have to do with prison ministry? Kairos is one of two Greek words for time. Chronos is a specific time. Kairos is general time, such as "a time for peace." The Kairos Prison Ministry is God's Special Time for the 42 inmates He chose.

The goal of Kairos Prison Ministry is to build Christian communities within the long-term correctional institution environment. This is done by introducing 42 inmates at a time to the love of Christ and His Gospel. In small table families they learn to trust each other. They listen to 15 talks by lay and clergy speakers on progressive topics that outline the basics of the Christian faith. After the weekend they continue to meet with their new families to share the progress in their new walk and to pray together. The volunteers return monthly for a Saturday of sharing, instruction, worship, fellowship, renewal and strengthening. The inmates often say their Kairos experience is a taste of Heaven inside the Hell of prison.

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Results Oriented?
In Kairos we try and stay process oriented. That is we follow our manual, which has been developed with over 20 years of experience by Godly men and women. We present talks and meditations that are solidly based on Scripture. We demonstrate God's love in all we say and do. But most of all, we pray that the Holy Spirit will move in the prison residents hearts. And he does. We see the changes in their faces, their behavior, their witnessing and their lives. Prison officials that have seen Kairos work in other institutions beg to have it started in their own. The only thing holding us back is a shortage of volunteers.

For those who need to see concrete results here is a statistic by an impartial source, the SC Dept. of Corrections. Recidivism (the rate of return to prison for released inmates), for those who have completed a three-day Kairos retreat is less than half the norm. This statistic even includes those who have heard the Word on the 3-day retreat, but never return for the regular monthly Kairos Reunions. And, on the Kairos weekends, we bring in the tough guys, the gang leaders, the big drug dealers -- not just the inmates who are already committed Christians.

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Why Cookies?
When the Kairos Prison Ministry first began, a lot of the participants would not return after the first day. It was discovered that they were being hazed and harassed by other inmates back in their dorms because they were getting all the good food and good treatment. Actually, the other inmates were jealous. The Kairos Team prayed over this situation and the answer they got was "cookies." Wanting to spread the love of Jesus Christ throughout the institution, we now pack bags of cookies with a scripture verse in each one and pass them out with a blessing to each resident every night of the Kairos 3 1/2 - day weekend.

The cookies are tangible (and tasty) representations of the love of God from the Body of Christ to those who are lost and lonely. Do they deserve to be in prison? You bet. Do they deserve the love of Jesus? You bet!

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