There’s an image that captures the silent struggle many incarcerated youths face, a face half whole and half dissolving into darkness. The eyes are piercing, almost pleading, as if they’re asking, “Who am I really?” It’s the face of two worlds colliding, one shaped by pain, mistakes, and survival, and the other waiting to be rediscovered, the world of purpose, hope, and identity.

For many of the youth we serve through Kairos Torch, this is not just an image, it’s a mirror. It reflects the conflict within them, the desire to believe they are more than their worst act, yet the constant reminder from the world that tries to define them by it. They live daily between what they’ve done and who they are still capable of becoming, between the world that says, “you are broken” and the voice of truth whispering, “you are chosen.”

When a young person’s sense of identity is fractured, the cracks become entry points for despair. They begin to internalize labels like offender, inmate, or problem, and soon, those labels start to define their worth. But in reality, these youth are not the sum of their mistakes, they are the product of divine design. The darkness on one side of the face in the image represents the false world of identity, a place built from rejection, trauma, and self-protection. It’s the world that tells them they must be tough to survive, silent to stay safe, and invisible to avoid pain.

The illuminated side, however, represents truth, the side that still believes, still hopes, and still dares to dream. It’s the world God sees when He looks at them, His creation, made on purpose and for a purpose. Our role as mentors is to stand between those two worlds, creating a space where light has permission to enter the cracks and bring healing.

Every Kairos Torch mentor becomes, in a sense, a bridge. We reach into the darkness with love, patience, and truth, helping young people cross into the light of their true identity. Mentoring is not about fixing, it’s about revealing, helping youth see what has been hidden beneath the pain. To do this, mentors must intentionally create a new world within the walls, an environment of trust, safety, and belief. A world where young people can ask hard questions without fear of judgment, a world where their voices matter and their stories have value, a world where they can dream again, perhaps for the first time.

When a young person begins to see that they are more than their record, more than their mistakes, and more than what others say about them, that’s when transformation begins. The broken texture on the face in the image is not something to hide, it’s something to understand. Every crack tells a story, of pain, of resilience, of survival. Mentors who listen carefully will find that within every scar lies a seed of purpose. God never wastes pain. What was once a wound can become a window through which His light shines. Our job is not to erase the cracks but to help them see beauty through them, to see how even broken pieces can reflect divine purpose.

Incarcerated youth are often identified by their worst act, but Jesus never saw people that way. He looked beyond sin to see destiny. He looked past labels to see life. And He calls us to do the same. When a mentor looks into the eyes of a young person who feels beyond redemption and says, “You still have purpose,” it interrupts the narrative of shame and begins to rewrite their story. It creates a new identity rooted not in what they’ve done, but in who they are, beloved, designed, and capable of change.

Kairos Torch is more than a program; it’s a sacred calling to step into the shadows where hope has been forgotten. It’s an invitation to help youth navigate the tension of living between two worlds, the world that reminds them of their past and the one that calls them into their future. Every mentoring conversation, every moment of listening, and every prayer whispered behind those walls brings light into darkness. As mentors, we don’t just show them a better path, we help them see themselves through the eyes of purpose, the way God always has.

Because when the light of truth meets the cracks of a wounded heart, a new identity is born. And that is where freedom truly begins.