Matthew 10:32-33
“Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven."

Jesus calls and sends his disciples to the lost sheep of Israel because he has a great compassion for the needy. He sees them as sheep without a shepherd, lost and living in miserable conditions. They're harassed, and cast down. And in the face of many evils they're unable to help themselves. They are outside of Christ, living in darkness.

And what's interesting is the disciples are sent to be forerunners to His coming. Like heralds they are to go into the towns and villages healing the sick, casting out demons, raising spirits and preaching the good news. It's a mission trip, he's sending them outside the congregation to free these people from the bondage of evil. This is aggressive evangelism. It's like rustic camping. Bring it in and take it out. They must depend entirely on God for all their needs. It's a mission trip focused upon aggressively reaching those who will receive the word of God, and walking away from those who will not.

Jesus equips them before they leave. He discusses their acts of ministry and the various responses they will experience. And assures them that what they're doing will not go unnoticed in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus encourages them to stand firm to the very end, knowing that only those who remain faithful will escape judgment in the Last Days (v.10:22).

"And all nations will hate you because you are my followers. But everyone who endures to the end..."

And though he does equip them with an abundance of caution, it's not all gloom and doom that they'll face. In fact, they will experience great blessings from their ministry work. They are sent to bring the sword of truth, and they will experience both blessing and unrest. They'll find people who are open to the gospel and others who are hardened against it. And so, it turns out that this sending is both a testimony and a test.

Matthew 10:40
"Anyone who receives you receives me, and anyone who receives me receives the Father who sent..."

And those who receive these missionaries with kindness and grace, even just offering a cup of water, will not be forgotten in the kingdom of heaven.

"truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.” (v. 42b)

In my own experience, I've seen the power of the sword of truth at work in mission trips. I've seen those who are resistant to it, and I've seen those who are open minded. I've walked through the security doors, and fences. Past the razor wire and into the cell blocks. I've seen people living in great darkness. And I've seen Jesus there. Already there. Waiting for us.

Sure he called us. He instructed us, equipped us, cautioned us. Weeks of training as we develop as a team. He broke us down and lifted us up. And he meshed us up into one unified spirit. And then he sent us.

We had to get up and go. We had to prepare our thoughts and words. We had to make sure we prayed and commended ourselves to the preparation. And then after all the many hours of preparation, we are stripped down to our socks. We step up to the prison security gates with our shoes and belts and other things all dropped into a bin and left with the men and women there. They scan us and search us. They examine our ID and our faces. And at the end of it all we are left only with our motives.

What motivates us to do its?

When we go inside, the residents there ask us that very thing.

"Why are you here?"

We could answer with our ministry tagline, "we're bringing the love of Jesus to prisoners and their families".

We could say we're trying to live out our ministry scripture focus, “…I was in prison and you came to visit me.” (Matthew 25:36)

But these guys on the inside aren't going to buy that kind of stuff. They're not going to receive a programmed copy of the truth. They're looking to see if you're genuine. These incarcerated men know how to read people better than most. And they'll work on you to find out your true motives.

When they ask, I tell them I'm confident that this time, this 4 day weekend, is God's special time arranged especially for them in particular. I go right to them and their personal lives. And I tell them I was sent to meet them with Christ in my spirit and my heart so that they can know him in a way they've never known before.

“I thought I was pretty tough.

I didn’t cry when I was arrested.

I didn’t cry when I was sentenced.

I didn’t cry when I came to prison.

But I found out that I’m not tougher than God…

I’ve been crying all weekend.”

— Kairos Inside Graduate

I tell them that there was a time in my life when I was completely down and out. I was lost and living in darkness. I was a part of a lot of the things they had likely done. And I came very close to finding myself where they are now. But what truly motivates my mission mindset is that during those times of darkness I used to cry out to God, and pray that someone would come and help me out.

And no one came.

I had to go through it all until I found myself completely alone and broken.

Eventually I found the light of the gospel. And Christ came into my heart. And so, now I'm hear to be the person I prayed for.

I'm hear because someone didn't come.

Someone was sent but didn't go.

Someone heard the word but didn't do it.

And so yeah, I'm here because Jesus commanded us to visit the prisoners, and the sick, and to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. But I'm really here because I found Christ and I'm not going to be that guy who didn't go and preach the good news.

The Kairos prison ministry is the direction I went after many other paths and oaths were followed. And what I found was The Holy Spirit goes before us as we head on in through that security. He prepares the path and opens the doors. And when you're inside there you see Him at work in so many unexpected ways.

During the 4 day weekend we see and hear many testimonies. On the last day (Sunday), we have a closing ceremony and graduation. During that time we open the mic for any of the graduates who want to come forward and share what they've learned and what they're taking away from this special Kairos time. One of my favorite team jobs is trying to write down their responses. I'm a good note taker and so I'll compile a list of all the testimonials as best as I can.

I've heard things like this every time:

"I made a friend here this weekend, and His name is Jesus...I am serving a life sentence for murder, but I've never felt so free as I do now."

"I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. I felt like Paul felt."

"I would love to someday be able to volunteer and be able to give back the love that was given to me. "

"What I learned at Kairos is that God doesn’t hate me, He just hates my sins; the volunteers taught me that He is a forgiving God."

"How else could a person with two life sentences survive the horrors of prison life? All things are possible with God. Without Him, many of us don’t make it. It was because of Kairos that I got to know God, and ultimately, I was given the chance to live."

"I lost contact with my family outside of here. I’ve been doing my time alone; now I have a community."

And that's really what we're doing in the Kairos ministry. We're bringing these men home, back into the family of God. With Christ they come to know his forgiveness, his love, and his community of believers. They become a kind of church within the prison. More like what church is truly meant to be. Serving, encouraging, sharing concerns and a word from God. They're meeting together to pray for each other, to listen to each other. To hear and to serve, in love, in truth and in community for Christ's sake.

It's raw, it's real, and it's filled with The Holy Spirit.

I thank God for leading me into this mission. I'm thankful that I've been given the opportunity to help him reach out to these lost souls.