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KAIROS OVERVIEW
Kairos is an interdenominational Christian ministry whose programs are designed to be presented in state and federal men's and women's correctional institutions in the U.S. with adaptations for other countries and languages. This ministry is governed by the national board of Kairos Prison Ministry, Inc. with headquarters in Winter Park, Florida. The ministry is conducted, in cooperation with the chaplains of correctional institutions, by teams of laity and clergy who are selected, trained and certified by area governing bodies of Kairos and approved by correctional institutions as citizen volunteers.
Kairos Prison Ministry is a ministry by persons drawn from a broad range of denominational churches. Kairos volunteers have experience in renewal movements within their churches which focus on small group dynamics, share and prayer groups, personal witness and vulnerability in Christian community. It is a continuing ministry. The primary objective of the 3-day short course is to prepare selected residents for life in an ongoing Christian community.
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ORIGINS
Kairos Prison Ministry 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 Cursillo movement in Union Correctional Institution, a maximum security institution at Raiford, Florida, in l976.
From that experience 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. It was called "Kairos."
There are two Greek words for time. One of them, with which we are all familiar, is "kronos," meaning linear time ... hours, days, weeks, etc. The other is "kairos," used in the sense of a time set by God for a particular occurrence. "KAIROS" was found to be a word of very special significance in the environment of the correctional institution where the word "time" carries so many special connotations.
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THE PURPOSE OF KAIROS
The purpose of Kairos is to establish strong Christian communities among the populations of correctional institutions. This is done through the impact of small, 3-to-5 person share and prayer groups of leaders resident in the institutions. These groups are to meet weekly to share their lives on a deep spiritual level and to pray for one another, for other residents and staff in the institutions.
Kairos 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. Kairos has been called the best example of the early church in existence today.
The objective of Kairos is to impact the correctional environment through the action of the leaders, as apostles of Jesus Christ, in all areas of human activity in the prison.
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THE ESSENCE OF KAIROS
Through a systematic, structured program, the residents of correctional institutions are given the opportunity to experience a religious renewal and to accept God's call to a life of Christian witness and service to one another during their stay in the institution and beyond.
The Kairos strategy is to identify leaders from the key environments of the institution, leaders who have the greatest potential to impact their environments with the message of Christ's love. These leaders are then invited to attend a 3-Day Short Course in Christianity where they are introduced to the Kairos community.
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NEW BEGINNINGS
In the years since this ministry began at U.C.I. in Raiford, FL, thousands of residents have participated in the continuing ministry of Kairos. A statement heard over and over again from residents attempting to describe the ministry of the 3-day short course has been this, or a variation of it: "It wasn't the words that got to me. I've heard words like these often in my life. It was the acting out of them. The love."
Many changes have been made, and continue to be made, in the methods for delivering that love. Some changes were dictated by the environment in which the ministry operates, others by the fact that Kairos is an interdenominational ministry.
There is an orderly method for effecting changes in this manual and in its use, and the editorial comittee of the National Board of Directors constantly reviews recommended changes as the ministry evolves and prisons change.
Central to every change inaugurated has been Jesus' "new" commandment. "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples." John l3:34-35.
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