The mission of Kairos is to bring Christ's love and forgiveness to all incarcerated individuals, their families, and those who work with them, and to assist in the transition of becoming productive citizens.
Kairos is a prison ministry named after a Greek word in the new Testament which means "a favorable or decisive point in time." We refer to it as "God's special time." Kairos is interdenominational, with members from all Christian churches (including Assembly of God, Baptist, Catholic, Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Methodist, Pentecostal, and Presbyterian churches) all focusing on common Christian-beliefs for the purpose of Christianizing prisons.
Kairos uses the unique strategy of focusing on natural leaders with the greatest power and influence among inmates, and who therefore have the most potential to succeed in changing their environments with the message of Christ's love. The program begins with a highly structured 3 1/2 day short course in Christianity after which the inmates are encouraged to conduct meeting weekly in small prayer groups. Kairos follows up with monthly meetings for all Kairos graduates.
As an instrument of the Holy Spirit, through prayer, fasting, and other sacrifices, this ministry has been very successful wherever tried, and is currently ministering in over a hundred state and federal prisons in nearly half of our States. Kairos recently went international. Most of those reached by Kairos are unchurched, often gang-leaders, but upon completion of the 'short course' they build Christian communities for mutual support as they evangelize for Christ in prison.
Kairos is praised by many church and prison officials as one of our most effective ministries. Kairos is a nonprofit organization and all donations are tax-deductible. To mail a donation, please address your envelope to Kairos Inc, 916 N. Union Road, Stillwater, OK 74075.
Even though prison sentences in the United States are long in comparison with other countries, most inmates will return to society in less than three years. Ninety-six percent of them will eventually be walking the same streets which we walk.
For a variety of reasons, from 30 to 70 percent of those released will return to prison again. Continuing studies being carried out in South Carolina, Texas, Colorado and California indicate dramatic reductions in the recidivism rate among those residents who have experienced Kairos.
Kairos files are full of letters from prison superintendents, wardens, correctional officers and other members of the criminal justice system detailing the extremely favorable impact the Kairos ministry has had on the quality of life in prisons across the country and in Canada.