While there are many accounts of Jesus sending his disciples out on a mission (e.g. Matthew 10, Mark 6, Luke 10), they all have one curious command in common: take nothing with you. As a new volunteer on a recent Kairos Inside Short Course, I had the opportunity to practice this command literally as I entered the Wolston Correctional Centre with nothing but myself. No wallet, no keys, no phone. Not even a Bible.
Like the disciples, the physical emptying of my pockets allowed a spiritual emptying to occur. It allowed me to open up and trust that God would provide all that was needed for the ministry. Of course, God provided more than what we could have ever expected, and by the end of the week several things stuck out from my experience.
Firstly, by the time that we arrived (with empty pockets), the Holy Spirit had been at work in the facility. The work of the Spirit was evident in the willingness of the centre’s Management to grant us space and time to run the course. It was evident in the presence and enthusiasm of former participants who returned as ‘green servants’. And it was evident in the openness and generosity of men who joined the course as participants.
Secondly, I became aware that while I went in with nothing, I did not go in alone. The commitment and teamwork of the whole inside team was a living example of what a group of disciples can do when they work together in the same calling. Still, the 15 of us that went inside was just the tip of the iceberg. All week we had the presence of a support and prayer team, not to mention everyone else (both locally and around the world) who prayed, organised logistics, wrote manuals, raised funds and showed all sorts of other kinds of support.
When the disciples returned from their mission, we are told that they returned “with joy” (Luke 10:17). I can think of no better description of how I have felt in the days after returning from the short course. A line from one of the songs has been rolling through my head: “Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place”. Though we arrived with nothing, the Lord’s presence was truly there, and that was everything we could ever need.
Jim – First time volunteer.
