by Erin Monahan Stauffer

Hal Smith lives an obedient and lawful life. So why can’t he stay out of prison?

“I remember the first time I went through the [prison] gates and heard those things clang behind me,” says Smith, a Northview Church attendee since 1989. “This is a maximum security prison in Pendleton. It looks like the inside of Alcatraz.”

He’s talking about Indiana’s Pendleton Correctional Facility (PCF), which is located about 22 miles east of Carmel in the small town of Pendleton — a long way from San Francisco’s legendary island prison.

PCF is home to 1,888 adult males, many of whom are the worst-of-the-worst criminals in the state. But Smith is no criminal. He’s part of an inter-denominational volunteer team of clergy and laypersons from Kairos Prison Ministry. They come to PCF twice each year to share Christ’s love with the inmates, their families and prison workers.

Why do they do it? Because Jesus said so.

I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me with help and ministering care, I was in prison and you came to see Me.—Matthew 25:36

No cookie-cutter ministry

Kairos (pronounced “kie-rose”) is a Greek word meaning “God’s special time.” It’s also the name of the non-profit Christian ministry that started in Florida in 1976 and is now in 31 states and 8 countries. Governor Mitch Daniels and the Indiana State Department of Corrections endorsed Kairos Prison Ministry International about four years ago, and it’s now active in all Indiana prisons. The ministry is solely run by volunteers and has three programs:

Kairos Inside (for incarcerated men and women) – This is an introductory three-day weekend described as a short course in Christianity, plus a monthly follow-up program. Volunteers work with the prison chaplain to carefully select up to 42 inmates to attend the special course. In addition to hearing God’s Word, the selected inmates are fed coveted foods they don’t normally get, including fresh fruits and vegetables, pizza, burgers and homemade chocolate chip cookies. In fact, each of the 1,880 inmates, plus all correctional officers, receive one dozen cookies during the Kairos weekend.

“They don’t get sweets in prison, so the chocolate chips are really savored,” says Smith, adding that anyone can bake and donate cookies, as long as they follow the recipe exactly. (You’ll find a link to the Kairos cookie recipe at the end of this article.)

Kairos Torch (for youthful offenders) – Offers unconditional love and acceptance, encouraging young men and women to share their life journey through participation in a long-term mentoring process. The program begins with a weekend retreat inside the prison. Torch team members commit to a weekly mentoring process with the youthful offenders for six months after the weekend.

Kairos Outside (for family and friends) – A special weekend retreat designed to support the female loved ones of men and women who are or have been incarcerated. Families of the incarcerated “do time” right along with their loved ones.  In a safe environment with loving people, women interact with other women who are in similar situations and learn to form small groups to support and give them strength for the challenges they face.

Love, don’t judge

It’s understandable that some folks may find it difficult to embrace the idea of prison ministry, especially if they or others they know have been victims of crime. When you consider the heinous acts many inmates have committed, it can be hard not to judge them or feel threatened by them.

In a recent interview on the Christian television network TBN, John Thompson, Executive Director of Kairos Prison Ministry International, addressed these concerns and presented some startling statistics.

“I think it’s very important to pray for and have in our hearts the victims of crime,” Thompson says. “If we don’t bring Jesus Christ into these prisons, these men are gonna come out and they’re gonna do the same things all over again.”

According to Thompson, a whopping 700,000 inmates get released each year and two-thirds of them come back. He says the Department of Corrections doesn’t have the resources to do what the community can do. “Because of certain governmental restrictions, they cannot proclaim the Word of God. Whereas we as the church are in positions to do that.”

On the outside, there are millions of children whose mothers and fathers are in prison. “The national statistic is that 70 to 75 percent of those children will ultimately go to prison,” Thompson says. “And the Christian community in our churches can respond to that.”

It’s important to note that Kairos provides thorough training for all its volunteers. The Department of Corrections also has strict rules that prison volunteers and visitors must follow.

Watch John Thompson’s interview here: www.kairosprisonministry.org/index.html.

How you can help

To date, Smith has participated in 10 Kairos weekends, including five in Texas where he lived before moving to Indiana. Now he’s retired and lives in Carmel. He’s called Northview his church home for the past 22 years, and when he found out Kairos was coming here, he naturally opened his heart. Now he hopes others will get involved.

The next Kairos Inside weekend is June 23-26.

Pray, pray, pray

“We need people to sign up and pray,” says Hal, referring to the 24-hour prayer vigil website http://www.3dayol.org. Click “Prayer Vigil” on the left side of the screen and then scroll down the list until you find Pendleton Correctional Facility. Then click on the dates June 23-26, and sign up for the time(s) you’ll be praying.

Bake Cookies

Smith says they need 2,600 dozen (31,200 individual) cookies for the upcoming weekend. The cookies are needed no later than Wednesday, June 22. When your cookies are ready, call Smith at 846.6360 to arrange a time when he can pick them up.

Cookies must be made exactly according to the recipe provided on the Kairos website (Photo by Erin Monahan Stauffer).

Here’s a link to the Kairos cookie recipe: www.kairosofindiana.org/cookie.

“It’s absolutely essential that the recipe be followed exactly,” warns Smith. “Uniformity is vital to keeping the peace in prison. If some prisoners receive “better” cookies than another, problems can really occur. Also, uniformity in size and consistency really helps when we’re dealing with 2,600 dozen cookies.”

During cookie distribution, inmates reach through the bars to receive their bags of chocolate chip goodies. They also get an uplifting word from volunteers who tell them God loves them and has a wonderful plan for their lives.

“We’ve seen miracles happen as we distribute these cookies,” says Smith. “Many of the cell blocks are incredibly noisy, with prisoners shouting, cursing and threatening each other from their locked cells. Because we go in covered in prayer, sharing a simple message with the cookies of God’s love for them, the cell blocks begin to quiet down and peace spreads throughout the prison. It’s absolutely amazing!”

For more details, contact Hal Smith at (317) 846.6360 or frwys14@aol.com. Also check these websites: kairosofindiana.org, kairosprisonministry.org, 3dayol.org or in.gov/idoc.