Kairos Prison Ministry restores lives on both sides of prison gates

April 1, 2026 | KACU 89.5 FM

April 2, 2026 | West Texas Tribune

The volunteers of Kairos Prison Ministry believe that God’s love can bring light to even the darkest of places and circumstances.

In Abilene, the warden of the French Robertson Prison Unit selects 42 men she thinks would most benefit from the Kairos Inside program. Some inmates wait years to be picked, while others get picked the first time. Kairos is a Greek word that translates to “God’s special time.” Selected inmates are loved on through the 3 ½-day weekend.

Chris Cummings joined Kairos Inside as part of the worship team 13 years ago and has since been a part of 22 weekends. The thought of volunteering in a maximum security prison was initially intimidating to Cummings. He was raised in an innocent, Christian household and knew nothing about prison life. Now, he says Kairos has been one of the biggest blessings of his life.

Women who have a family member or loved one in prison are ministered to, as well, through Kairos Outside. Most recent weekends have been held in Lueders, at the Big Country Baptist Assembly campsite.

Dayna Ross was part of the first Kairos Outside weekend in Abilene. The 16th weekend will take place May 1-3. Ross was hesitant at first to volunteer but felt God tug at her heartstrings since she had a sister who was in prison.

Kairos weekends start informally. In prison, inmates are given a name tag and sandwiches. At the campsite, the women have a tea party. Volunteers talk to participants and try to establish a relationship.

“In prison, there’s games going on all the time, and so they’re very skeptical of what you’re doing,” Cummings said. “They think, ‘Why would these people come in from the free world and try to feed me and love on me and tell me about God? Why would they do that? There must be some alternative they’re looking for.’”

The first speaker usually doesn’t mention God at all. According to Cummings, around 90% of the men he interacts with in prison have never had exposure to Christian activities of any kind. Often, a volunteer who previously served time in prison shares their story with inmates to build trust and credibility early on in the weekend.

“Instantly, those guys go, ‘Oh wow, he’s one of us,’” Cummings said.

Women who have been separated from loved ones in prison often speak at Kairos Outside weekends.

Ross said she wants the women to feel like they belong, even if they are not Christian. “The talks just go from not so much talking about Christ to more of how Christ changes your life if you allow him to,” Ross said.

Participants on both sides receive a lot of food. Inmates receive brisket, hamburgers, chicken lasagna, fried chicken and an awesome amount of cookies. “My saying about Kairos is that we get to their stomachs and God gets to their heart,” Cummings said.

Bags filled with notes that are handmade by the wives of every Kairos team member are given to each of the 42 inmates. A paper prayer chain gives inmates a visual representation of the people praying for them from all over the world. Each chain link has an individual’s name and where they are from written on it.

The women from Kairos Outside also have a paper chain made for them. Their prayer chain includes the names of men who are in prison. “Sometimes the chain will go all the way around the room two or three times,” Ross said.

The talks given by Kairos team members address the specific struggles that inmates and women affected by incarceration deal with.

Inmates don’t get to make many choices on their own. They are told when they can shower and eat. Some are separated from their partners and children. Cummings said the Kairos Inside team focuses on teaching inmates the value of opening up and establishing friendships with the men around them.

Women with loved ones facing time in prison deal with social isolation and rejection. “They feel like they’re having this struggle and they’re all alone in the midst of their struggle,” Ross said. “When actually, if you look around, you don’t have to look far to see somebody who’s been affected by incarceration.”

Women with husbands in prison have to balance working and raising kids without their partner. Mothers struggle with not being able to provide for their sons and daughters while they are in prison.

It can be hard for these women to open up about their struggles. “They don’t want anybody to judge them. And it’s very hard sometimes to admit, yeah, I’m part of that group, a group that, you know, you really don’t want to be in, but you’re in,” Ross said.

Some women sign up for the weekend but then don’t show up, which Ross said is likely due to their fear of judgment.

By Sunday, many inmates from Kairos Inside feel a change in their hearts. “Sunday is the most powerful worship I’ve ever seen because these men are so full of joy, they have found freedom that they’ve never experienced their whole life,” Cummings said.

The transformation does not stop once the weekend ends. Once a month, inmates in the unit facilitate a meeting time for prayer and music. Volunteers can go out to participate, but it is primarily the inmates who lead.

The women of Kairos Outside meet in SWAP groups, which stands for share, witness, accountability and prayer. SWAP allows the women to continue to grow in their faith and have support from others going through similar obstacles.

Darrell Morris now volunteers in the prison where he once served time. “The coolest thing is when guys get out, and then they get to go back in that unit where they lived. And those men see them and go, ‘Wow, man, if Darrell or John can do it, I can do this too,’” Cummings said.

Morris went on to earn an associate degree in substance abuse counseling and was awarded the 2025 Texas Homeless Network Award for Outstanding Service Provider of the Year.

Cummings connected with Morris in prison and kept in contact with him for years through letters. On special occasions, Morris would exchange prison food for cards that artistically talented inmates could create. Cummings and his wife were there when Morris walked out of prison for the first time.

The work that Kairos does is making a difference. Cummings said if 100 people are released from the Robertson Prison, 55 of those are going to be back pretty soon. If those same men go through Kairos, only 16 of those men will go back to prison.

Around 2/3 of Kairos Abilene volunteers travel in from out of town. Cummings said he’d like to see more volunteers from the Abilene area and that anybody willing to love on people can qualify to serve.

Kairos Outside needs volunteers who can serve tables, work in the kitchen, transport women to the campsite and facilitate table talks.

Kairos is fully funded by volunteers. The Abilene Gives fundraiser has been huge for Kairos, but since this will be the last year of Abilene Gives, they won’t be able to rely on those funds anymore. Donations can be mailed to P.O. Box 1776, Abilene, Texas 79604, or picked up by Dayna Ross.

To inquire more information about volunteering for Kairos Inside, email Chris Cummings: Chriscummings59@gmail.com.

To inquire more information about volunteering for Kairos Outside, email Dayna Ross: Daynabird65@gmail.com.