Finding Hope Behind Prison Walls
Hi, my name is Steve Riley, and this is my wife, Kris. We’ve been members here at CityBridge for a little over six years, and we’ve been serving as part of the prison ministry team since 2024.
We first became involved with this ministry when a member of our community group invited us to come and see. Today we want to share some of our experiences and invite you to come and see as well.
In Luke 15, Jesus tells three parables. He says He will look for the lost sheep, diligently search for the lost coin, and when the prodigal returns, He runs to him. That picture of God pursuing the lost has shaped how we see this ministry.
A Walk That Needed to Grow
I became a Christian in my 30s, but for a long time my walk with Christ was lukewarm at best. When Kris and I joined CityBridge, we both felt challenged to grow beyond that.
The Holy Spirit began to inspire me through two ministries, one of them being Kairos Prison Ministry. Kairos begins with a three-and-a-half-day spiritual weekend that immerses prison inmates in God’s grace and mercy. After that weekend, there are weekly prayer and share meetings where the men can learn, encourage one another, and hold each other accountable.
It sounds a lot like a community group. In many ways, that’s exactly what it becomes for them.
Stepping Into a Foreign Place
The first time I served as part of the Kairos ministry team, I came with curiosity and a little fear. We were stepping into a place that can feel pretty scary. I wondered what these men would be like.
I had never been called to step into a place that was so foreign, with a language and culture all its own. Prison can be a dark, desperate, and potentially hostile place. Inmates are often objectified, demeaned, abused, forgotten, and hopeless.
But in Matthew 25:36, Jesus says, “I was in prison and you visited me.” Kairos has given me a way to do just that. To visit Jesus.
Seeing Lives Transformed
Many of the men who come to Kairos arrive with walls of sin, shame, and guilt. Over the course of the weekend, those walls begin to come down.
When they experience the love of Jesus, they begin to find forgiveness and hope. They start letting go of anger, addressing addictions, and leaving gang affiliations. Their lives begin to change.
Prisoners who are known only by a number begin to feel human again.
Seeing that transformation has changed my own walk with Jesus. What used to be lukewarm has turned into a run. I look forward to going into prison during Kairos weekends and returning once or twice a month for the weekly prayer and share gatherings.
I see these men, who were once lost sheep, being found by the love of God.
Serving From the Outside
While Steve goes inside the prison to interact with the inmates, I serve in a different role on the Kairos team.
Every inside team needs an outside support team to accomplish the mission. Support team members can be men, women, or even kids. We work out of a local church near the prison, and one of our most important roles is serving as prayer warriors, asking God to do what only He can do.
We also prepare meals that are sent into the prison, sort and send more cookies than you can imagine, and create agape expressions of love in the form of prayer chains, placemats, posters, meal tickets, and letters.
These things may seem small, but they communicate something powerful. They show our brothers in white just how much Jesus loves them.
Sometimes a single prayer chain will bring inmates to tears. They can hardly believe that thousands of strangers are praying for them.
A Light in a Dark Place
This ministry has changed both of us. We’ve seen firsthand how the love of Christ can reach people who feel forgotten and restore hope in places that seem dark.
The fire that these men develop for the Lord becomes a bright light in a very dark place. And that light challenges us to keep sharing Christ with others, both inside the prison and outside of it.
Our invitation is simple.
Come and see.
