Why I visit men in prison

Though I’ve certainly talked about it before, I keep running into folks who seem to have a real curiosity about why I go to prison on the first Sunday of every month. The short answer is “it’s a ministry thing” or “a Kairos thing”. And yet most wondering what the attraction could possibly because we all know prisons are those dark, foreboding places where they keep all the bad people.

So let me back up just a bit and explain that Kairos is an international prison ministry that is designed to take the love of Christ to the men and women who find themselves behind bars.

Back in 2000, as I was going through a Lay Ministry program, I began to sense the Holy Spirit nudging me towards getting involved with some sort of prison ministry — which was quite a shock to a conservative, middle class, middle aged guy who had successfully avoided something like that. So I considered it a fluke — some wayward notion that would go away in time. And so I did what any reasonable person would do. I ignored God’s calling for two whole years.

But then some of my church friends convinced me to attend a four day Emmaus Walk - prayer retreat at one of the local summer camps. And I had a great time! It was spiritually encouraging and enlightening. It really took my walk with God ot a much higher level. And that would have been the end of it except for the fact taht those same people talked me into attending a reunion banquet. Now, I’m not the banquet kind of guy — endless socializing with people I don’t know and will never see again this side of heaven just doesn’t seem like my “cup of tea”. But the very last speaker of the evening stood up and mentioned how he was affiliated with his “Kairos” organization, a group of men who volunteered to take the Word of God inside prison walls. And at that point, the Spirit inside of me started screaming. I suddenly realized that my earlier inclinations were no mistake.

After some extensive training, I took part in my first weekend at Grafton Correctional somewhere around 2010. During those four days, I met guys who aare still some of my closest friends today. not the volunteers necessarily, but the residents. Over that weekend, I saw men give their heart to Christ as we worshiopped and sang and ate and prayed and laughed and even cried together. I heard horror stories about how some had been abused as children, or about how they got blined by drugs or alcohol and feel in with the wrong crowd. And the whole time I’m thinking, “It could have been me. It could have been MY story.”

Oh, I suppose I started off with the best of intentions, thinking I would bravely take the Word of God to men who desperately need to hear the Gospel, only to discover one of the greatest blessings of my life. I am so much richer now for spending this time wiht my newfound friends. They have taughtme so much about my limited perception of the world and about myself, especially about the incredible love of the patient and forgiving God we all serve.

Please pray for these men — and for your pastor as we all seek to follow Him more closely.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Ed