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Prayer & Share

The Heart of Discipleship: Prayer and Share at Crain Unit

The Crain Unit in Gatesville, Texas, is home to a powerful expression of Kairos Prison Ministry: Prayer and Share. This continuing ministry is the essential follow-up program that sustains the Christian community established during the initial 3.5-day Kairos Inside Weekend. It is where faith matures, and true transformation takes root.

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What They Do: The Engine of Accountability

Prayer and Share is the weekly small group gathering that serves as the backbone of the Kairos community inside Crain Unit. It is a structured time designed to foster deep fellowship, mutual encouragement, and spiritual growth.
The meetings are centered on the model of shared Christian living, where participants actively support one another in their journey.

The Prayer and Share Process

Participants typically meet in small groups of 3 to 6 individuals and follow a structured format (often using a grouping card) that focuses on five key points:
  • Prayer: Lifting up specific needs and praises for each group member.
  • Sharing God’s Love: Recounting times during the past week when they recognized or shared God’s love with someone else.
  • Accountability: Confessing struggles, seeking forgiveness, and being honest about their successes and failures.
  • Growth: Discussing any new spiritual insights gained or lessons learned from the Bible or their daily life.
  • Encouragement: Offering Christ-centered support to one another to help maintain their commitment to a changed life.

Who Is Invited: Building the Inside Community

The Prayer and Share meetings are primarily designed for the Inside Community—the residents who are working to build a sustaining Christian fellowship within the Crain Unit.

  • The Residents: All individuals incarcerated at Crain Unit who have previously attended a Kairos Weekend (either at Crain or another correctional facility) are invited and strongly encouraged to attend. They are the heart and soul of the ministry, leading and nurturing one another in their faith walk.
  • The Volunteers: Free-world Kairos volunteers return on a regular basis (often monthly, sometimes less frequently due to institutional requirements) to facilitate the overall group gathering and provide fellowship and encouragement. However, the volunteers generally do not sit in the small Prayer and Share accountability groups, as this activity is meant to be Resident-led to foster leadership and vulnerability among the participants.

The ultimate goal is to empower the residents to lead their own church community inside the walls.

Why It Is Important: Sustained Transformation

The Kairos Weekend is the seed, but Prayer and Share is the sustained nourishment that ensures the seed grows. The continued presence of this ministry is what distinguishes Kairos from a one-time retreat.

Lowers Recidivism and Violence

Studies have shown that prisons with active Kairos communities often see a reduction in violence and a reduction in recidivism rates (up to 50%). Prayer and Share provides the structure necessary for graduates to maintain their new spiritual and behavioral commitments, transforming former negative leaders into positive agents of change.

Provides Accountability

The prison environment is challenging, and sustaining a Christian lifestyle requires constant support. Prayer and Share groups offer weekly, face-to-face accountability where residents can challenge one another toward positive choices and Christ-like behavior. This community is critical for survival and growth behind the walls.

Nurtures Leadership

By empowering the residents to lead the discussions and hold one another accountable, Prayer and Share develops essential leadership and discipleship skills within the incarcerated community. This model builds a lasting, self-sufficient Christian fellowship that remains even when volunteers are not physically present.The Prayer and Share gatherings are truly the heart of the Kairos Continuing Ministry at Crain Unit, transforming individual lives and impacting the entire atmosphere of the facility through the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ.The work of building community and reducing violence through faith is beautifully captured in this video about the Kairos Program. Building A Community of Fellowship - Kairos Program

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Prayer and Share Schedule:

Month
Date & Time
November
29th – Crystal, Janine
December
20th - REUNION - Cindy, Janine
December
27th – Crystal
January
3rd , 10th, 17th - REUNION
January
24th
January
31st -(Weekend #2 - Team Meeting 1)
February
7th
February
14th - STATE MEETING
February
21st - (Weekend #2 - Team Meeting 2)
February
28th
March
7th - (Weekend #2 - Team Meeting 3)
March
14th
March
21st - REUNION
March
28th - (Weekend #2 - Team Meeting 4)
April
4th
April
11th - KAIROS WEEKEND #2
April
18th - Instructional
April
25th

Providing spiritual support and guidance, Kairos Crain offers hope and transformation to inmates in the Crain Unit in Gatesville, TX.

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PO Box 530223 Grand Prairie, TX 75053-0223
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Statement of Faith

The people of Kairos are called by God to share the love of Christ with those impacted by incarceration. Kairos encourages believers from a variety of Christian traditions to be volunteers in this Christ-filled ministry.

Kairos programs offer to prison residents, their families, and those who work with them the opportunity to receive God’s forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ, and to grow in their faith and servant hood in Christian community. We stand on the common ground of the following elements of faith:

We in Kairos believe:

  •  The Bible is God’s authoritative and inspired word for our faith and our lives.
  •  In the Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
  •  In the deity, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
  •  Friendship with God is a free gift, for God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
  •  The love of Jesus Christ motivates His followers to provide food for the hungry, drink to the thirsty, welcome to the stranger, clothes for the naked and visits to the sick and those in prison.
  •  In sharing the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ with all incarcerated individuals, their families and to those who work with them inside and outside the correctional institution.

Agreement

By my signature, as a faithful member on a Kairos Inside team:

  1. I will obtain a current Kairos Inside manual. I will read the manual and I will follow the program as it is presented in the Kairos Inside manual with no unauthorized additions or deletions.
  2. I will make every effort to attend ALL team meetings. I understand that if I miss these team meetings, I could be dismissed from the team.
  3. After becoming familiar with the program, as a Christian I agree to support, in good faith, the Weekend activities, as well as the theological and scriptural content of the Talks/Meditations outlined in the Kairos Inside manual.
  4. I am a Christian and I have read and agree with the Mission Statement, the Vision Statement, the CORE Values, and the Statement of Faith of Kairos Prison Ministry International, Inc.