Kairos ministry opening in July at Jacksboro prison

Kairos ministry opening in July at Jacksboro prison Thomas Wallner Tue, 07/02/2024 - 2:06 pm Two Graham residents have made it their goal to start the prison ministry Kairos in the John R. Lindsey State Jail in Jacksboro. Archive photo Volunteers with the Kairos Prison Ministry team during their training day held Saturday, June 22 at First Baptist Church of Jacksboro. The program will start at the end of July at the John R. Lindsey State Jail. Contributed photo/Doug Magneson Two Graham residents set a goal of establishing the Kairos Prison Ministry program in the John R. Lindsey State Jail in Jacksboro, and that dream is soon to be a reality. The prison ministry program will start at the end of July.The mission of the Kairos Prison Ministry is to visit incarcerated men, women, and youth and their families to share the message of Jesus Christ. Volunteers in the program serve in more than 400 correctional institutions and 86 communities in 37 states and nine countries.Graham residents Stan Edwards and Doug Magneson, who have been previously involved with the prison ministry, recruited volunteers for the program, which has an official start date of July 25-28.“Right now, I’d say we have between 70 and 80 volunteers that are from the Jacksboro, Graham, Azle, Springtown, Frisco area and everywhere in between,” Magneson said. “...We’ve got a lot of folks that have responded, and some of those folks have also been at Kairos at the Beto unit, at Hutchins unit. There’s about three or four other units in the Fort Worth-Dallas area, and they had asisted with Kairos there. So we’re getting a lot of experience coming in to start.”The Kairos program does not follow one specific denomination and those who visit the prisons do not take Bibles.Prisoners submit a request to the prison chaplain to be a part of the three-day meetings.“Over the course of the three-and-a-half days, we’ve got basically 10 talks,” Magneson said. “...The first talk... is about choices. If we have a previously incarcerated man that can give that talk, when he gets up to introduce himself... and (when) he gives these guys his Texas Department of Criminal Justice number... they immediately take notice.”Magneson said there are many individuals right now on their team that were previously incarcerated, which shows how the program continues to make an impact.“As of yesterday, we’ve got two men and three women who were incarcerated that are helping on the outside support team. I know of seven individuals, men that were incarcerated, that have been cleared to enter the unit and are helping on the inside team. ...That’s what it’s all about,” he said. “I mean, these folks feel that they were part of Kairos when they were incarcerated, and they felt it was strong enough to come back and just want to help others with it.”Inside the unit, Magneson said the prisoners have heard about Kairos coming to the location and some have already submitted to be considered for the program.One of the sweeter draws for many incarcerated is the homebaked cookies given through the program.“In a unit this size, we’re going to be needing at least 1,500 dozen cookies. That’s approximately 18,000 cookies,” Magneson said. “Because Kairos is lovingly known as the cookie ministry, when we come into a unit we bring homebaked cookies. We feed the guys cookies at the tables during the four days. But then we also give cookies to the other guys, the ones that don’t come into Kairos, the others incarcerated. We (also) give cookies to the staff.”Along with the threeand- half days, Kairos have a presence at the unit every week for a Tuesday evening prayer share and also have events every three months.First Baptist Church of Jacksboro is serving as the host church for the organization to use for their team meetings and have a facility to use in preparation for their weekend at the unit.The group is also seeking another host location for future programs held at the Jacksboro unit.“If there is any church in the area with a big kitchen that wants to become a part of Kairos, we welcome their questions and reach out to us if they want to,” Magneson said. “It’s another way for a community to become involved.”Those looking to be a part of the program as volunteers can contact Edwards at 325338-9769, Magneson at 618-623-8624 or visit kairoslindsey.org.Magneson said the impact made by the program is one that can have a rippling effect on many aspects of the prison.“If the presence of Kairos can be a calming effect it helps everybody. It helps the incarcerated. It helps the staff. It makes everybody more amiable, less contentious, if you will. In that setting that can be a good thing,” he said. “...That’s what we see as one of the most positive things, is bringing it not only to the guys but the aftershock for the correctional officers... and the staff.”