The Harvest We Cannot Ignore:

Why Kairos Torch Deserves
Our Attention?

For more than fifty years, God has used Kairos Prison Ministry to bring the hope of Jesus Christ into correctional institutions across our nation. Through Kairos Inside, Kairos Outside, and Kairos Torch, countless lives have been transformed by God’s grace. Yet there is one part of our ministry that deserves renewed attention from Kairos volunteers, Kairos Torch.

Each year, an estimated 550,000 young people become involved in the juvenile justice system in the United States. Of those youth, approximately 130,000 to 150,000 are adjudicated delinquent by juvenile courts, nearly 38,000 are placed in residential facilities following adjudication, and around 30,000 are confined in correctional facilities on any given day. These are far more than statistics. They represent teenagers who are searching for hope, acceptance, purpose, and love. Many have experienced trauma, broken families, abuse, neglect, addiction, or violence long before entering the juvenile justice system. They are not beyond God’s reach. In fact, they may be more open to the Gospel than we realize.

One of the most sobering realities is that many adults we now serve through Kairos Inside first encountered the justice system as juveniles. Imagine the impact if someone had shared Christ with them years earlier. Imagine if they had experienced unconditional Christian love, authentic mentoring,

and a community of believers before destructive patterns became lifelong habits. That is exactly what Kairos Torch seeks to do.

Too often, Kairos Torch is viewed as the smaller ministry within the Kairos family, or simply as a steppingstone to Kairos Inside. Nothing could be further from the truth. Kairos Torch is one of the most strategic ministries God has entrusted to us because it allows us to reach young people while their lives are still being shaped. We cannot change the past, but through the power of Jesus Christ we can help change the direction of a young person’s future.

Kairos Torch is far more than a youth version of Kairos. It is the only Kairos ministry that ministers to incarcerated youth at a stage when lifelong habits, identity, and purpose are still being formed. Every young person who encounters Christ has the potential to change the trajectory of an entire family. A teenager who discovers God’s love today may become a faithful spouse tomorrow, a loving parent in the future, an active church member, or even a Kairos volunteer who returns to serve others. When we minister to youth, we are not simply responding to today’s needs, we are investing in tomorrow’s families, churches, communities, and churches. That is Kingdom multiplication.

As Kairos volunteers, we faithfully answer God’s call to serve incarcerated men and women. But perhaps God is also asking many of us to consider serving younger hearts. The harvest is already before us. The question is not whether the need exists. The question is whether enough laborers will answer the call.

Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” (Matthew 9:37). Perhaps He is speaking to us.

If you have ever wondered whether God might be leading you into Kairos Torch, now is the time to pray, ask questions, and learn more. Together, we can help change the story of a young person’s life before it becomes the story of an adult inmate.

The future of Kairos is not only found inside our adult correctional institutions, it is also waiting inside our juvenile facilities. Every Weekend, every mentoring relationship, every conversation, and every volunteer willing to say “yes” has the potential to alter the course of a young person’s life for eternity.

May we have the courage to carry the torch.