Kairos Prison ministries share Christ's love and forgiveness with incarcerated individuals, their families and those who work with them, and helps former prisoners become productive citizens.

Kairos Prison Ministry International, Inc., is the parent organization of ministries addressing the spiritual needs of incarcerated men, women and children, their families and those who work in the prison environment. Kairos, which grew out of the 4th Day or Cursillo movement, is supported by volunteers from those communities. Although a separate ministry, Kairos has received the blessing and encouragement of 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. Kairos Prison Ministry is a ministry rather than a movement.

Kairos Prison Ministry International, Inc., is a not-for-profit corporation chartered in the State of Florida and is known as Kairos Prison Ministry.

As part of this Christian, lay-led, ecumenical and international prison ministry, men and women volunteers carry Christ’s love and forgiveness to incarcerated individuals and to their families. Kairos consists of three programs: the Men’s and Women’s Ministry, begun in 1976, Kairos Outside, begun in 1991, and Kairos Torch, begun in 1997.

The Three Arms of Kairos Prison Ministry

Kairos addresses the spiritual needs of men and women prisoners. Kairos volunteers go into prisons in teams of 30 to 40 to pray, share the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ, share meals, and fellowship with the incarcerated on a one-to-one basis. The first visit is a three-day event, during which time the team teaches a short introductory course on Christianity. Subsequent visits are monthly half-day reunions with the prisoners over a twelve-month period.

Kairos Outside provides spiritual healing to families of the incarcerated, who often feel that they too are “doing time.” Volunteers host a two-day event and follow up with gatherings for Guests and volunteers on a regular basis.

Kairos Torch ministers to youthful offenders, the most rapidly growing segment of the prison system.

The Where of Kairos

Kairos Ministries operates in 270 prisons in 33 states, England, Australia, South Africa, Costa Rica, and Canada. More than 170,000 incarcerated men and women have been introduced to Kairos, since its inception. The current number of volunteers exceeds 20,000 per year. 

Kairos Outside has four councils in Florida and is active in 19 states, Canada, England, Australia and South Africa, and includes 35 programs.

Kairos Torch operates in 10 locations.

The Value of Kairos

In 2003, Kairos volunteers donated more than 3.5 million volunteer hours to the various departments of corrections here and abroad. If you multiply 3.5 million by the then-current minimum wage of $5.15 per hour, our ministry donated $18 million in volunteer time. Volunteers paid $2 million for supplies, bringing the total value to $20 million.

Kairos programs have gained the respect of the correctional system too. In a study of 505 inmates released from Florida prisons, the recidivism rate was 15.7% among those who had participated in one Kairos session, and 10% among those who had participated in two or more Kairos sessions. The non-Kairos control group in the study had a recidivism rate of 23.4%.

The savings to the taxpayer are substantial. As one former prisoner put it: “It cost the government about $1,000,000 to try and imprison me for several years, but a $100 program keeps me out.”

The Inspiration of Kairos

The words of Christ Himself from Matthew 25:36, “I was in prison and you visited me.”