Walking into a medium-security correctional centre for the first time is a sensory shock. The environment is defined by wire, heavy doors, and a hushed, clinical volume.
But while Jim, a Kairos volunteer, admits the surroundings feel “intimidating” and “claustrophobic,” he has entered Wolston Correctional Centre between Christmas and New Year at the end of 2024 and 2025 with a sense of eagerness. He goes there because of a deep personal conviction that the gospel must be proclaimed even on the margins of society.
“It’s about my sense of Jesus and the gospels,” Jim explains. “The way that Jesus lived his life… very little of it actually occurs in an explicitly religious setting. His teaching happens out in nature, or along the road, or at meal tables”. Jim sees his role as following that example – going where people are often “afraid of being judged” and simply being present with them.
As a trained counsellor, Jim already had experience in walking with people through difficult circumstances and seasons. When he was encouraged to consider volunteering with Kairos by a friend from church, it seemed like a natural fit that brought together his conviction for serving those on the margins and his professional experience. So he was trained, and began to prepare for his first Kairos Inside program.
The impact of the program
Entering the regimented prison, and waiting for the participants to arrive, nervous energy was palpable in the team. But Jim recalls, the atmosphere of the prison changed the moment the inmates entered the room. “Up until that point, it’s all anticipation,” Jim says. “Once the participants walk in the door and the excitement they have to be there… it becomes all about the relationships”.
Kairos Inside is a short course in Christianity that runs for three to five days, which allows participants to witness Christ’s love through the service of Christian volunteers. During this course participants are introduced to the love and sacrifice given by Jesus Christ, encouraged to reflect on their lives, consider their choices for their futures, and invited to make a commitment to accountability.
The Kairos Inside program looks to open up the possibility of change through addressing what Jim characterises as “paralysing” feelings of regret, guilt and shame that many incarcerated people carry. Through discussions on forgiveness – forgiving others, themselves, and making amends – the participants are presented with the “basic message of a second chance”, Jim explains.
Jim recalls one participant who had long felt he was “not good enough” for faith. After hearing the gospel, the man found “an incredible amount of peace” in the realisation that he was already loved and accepted.
It’s not only the content of the program that changes lives. Jim remembers one participant who was insistent that the volunteers didn’t realise how much their presence meant. “The idea that you guys would come in voluntarily to spend time with us blows our minds,” the man told him. For these men, seeing fifteen “plain clothes guys” choose to spend five days of their Christmas holidays inside a prison is a powerful message that they are not forgotten. Jim notes that “there are always more applicants than spots available on the program”. Kairos is evidently well-regarded inside the prisons.
The Church inside
Over his past two years volunteering with Kairos, Jim has been particularly struck by the reality that there is a vibrant Christian community that already exists inside the walls of Australia’s prisons – a community Jim now realises Kairos is there to support, rather than create from scratch.
This is particularly visible in a central part of the Kairos Inside program, the “Green Servants”. These are former participants who, while still incarcerated, return to serve the new groups. They are named for the green uniforms they wear as inmates. While the volunteer team works with the participants, the Green Servants handle the logistics: setting up meals, preparing rooms, and praying for the program.
“I remember quite distinctly the first time that I gave a talk on the program,” Jim says. “The Green Servants prayed for me before the talk… there was something in that that really moved me. Tears were running down my cheeks to have these men pray with such passion”.
Why Volunteer?
Jim emphasises that you don’t need professional qualifications to be a volunteer. Despite being a counsellor by trade, his role inside the prisons is much simpler: “Listen, listen, love, love”.
“If we do nothing else in a day, if we listen and love, we’re doing our job,” he says. He believes the most important qualities are authenticity and humility. “In our own faith life, we have to understand our own fallibility… we meet people as fellow human beings rather than ‘you’re the guilty one and I’m the not guilty one'”.
For those who are nervous about stepping into a prison environment, Jim’s advice is simple: have the conversation and discern if it’s right for you. He admits that going inside the centres “won’t be for everyone,”, but for those who feel the pull, the support and training are there to support you. Training is well-structured to provide new volunteers with mentors and a careful introduction to the different aspects of running the program, so you won’t be thrown in the deep end.
And, as Jim has experienced, what you’ll find inside is far more encouraging than you could imagine.
Find out more about volunteering and get involved at www.kairos.org.au
