The 2007 Kairos Summer Conference and Board Meeting was held in Erie, Pennsylvania from July 3-7. Those attending from South Carolina were Jerry and Melveta Bode, Thornton and Arlene Crouch, Ken and Alyce Jane Sannes, and Annie Pollak and myself. All of us found the Conference to be very interesting, informative, and filled with the Holy Spirit. It truly was a wonderful experience.
There is great progress in various parts of the Ministry here in in the United States and in some overseas countries as well. Because of a number of factors, it appears that Kairos may be poised to embark on a major growth effort which could allow us to bring Christ to many more prisoners than we are now able to reach. It is an exciting prospect but also a little scary. And challenging. What we are facing is perhaps a little like what confronted Paul when he set off on his second missionary journey.
I will be reporting about the Conference in more detail at our next State Committee meeting, but here is some information that Jerry Bode felt should go out now.
Financial Reporting:
The International office needs to obtain timely financial information from each State in order to meet the auditing requirements of the Ministry.
States must report consolidated information from all the units in their State within 30 days after each quarter.
States that are more than 60 days delinquent will lose their seat and vote on the International Board until they comply.
With Ezra and Donor Programs, each Institution should be able to send the necessary financial information to the State Financial Secretary within 7-14 days after each weekend.
Program Compliance:
Increased emphasis must be placed on compliance with the Manuals and Policies, beginning with the Advisory Councils. All volunteers must understand that this is critical to our future.
The Observer Program is expected to significantly improve compliance.
Some States have had Observers in place for some time (Note: Texas has 42 active Institutions and has a State Observer at each weekend; they believe it has been very effective. For South Carolina, Jerry Bode is hoping that the Advisory Councils and Advising Leaders will take this responsibility seriously and that we therefore can limit outside observers to one weekend every three years or so for our institutions.
Residents should NOT be used for Table Servants (South Carolina policy prohibits this use of Residents as Table Servants).
Volunteers should NOT be used who will not commit to the monthly reunions at that Institution.
Weekend Leaders are required to have at least two more Inside volunteers than the number of Resident Candidates---there is to be no deviation from this policy. It is far better to reduce the number of tables and provide one-on-one mentoring of candidates than to try to accommodate a larger number of Resident Candidates. Quality is not to be sacrificed for quantity.
Observer Program:
The International office has prepared a draft checklist for the use of observers. A copy of this will be forwarded to each of you by mail and should be of use as you prepare for the Fall weekends.
In South Carolina, Gary Waldron is chairing a subcommittee to develop an Observer Program for our State and is preparing a checklist for review and approval by the State Committee. It is likely that the checklist eventually approved by the State Committee will incorporate many of the same items that appear in the draft checklist being forwarded to you at this time.
Do's and Don'ts:
The International Office has developed an excellent, expanded list of Do's and Don'ts for our volunteers. It also will be sent to you shortly by mail. We recommend that you incorporate this list in your volunteer training beginning this Fall.
Council Elections:
The New Advisory Council Manual, which can be downloaded from the Kairos Home Website, contains much important information that all Council members need to understand, including the conduct of Council elections.
Elections must be held yearly, near the time of the fall weekend.
All volunteers who have served at an Institution during the past three years are eligible to vote in the election, including those of the opposite sex who have served on the outside team.
Volunteers of the opposite sex also are eligible to serve on the Council, but not as Chair or Institutional Liaison.
And, finally, everyone is invited and encouraged to attend these summer conferences. The next conference will be in Oakland, California, from July 23-28, 2008. Participants can attend the Board meeting and select which of the many informative workshops they would like to attend. These conferences are especially useful to Advisory Council members and future Weekend Leaders. You will gain a whole new understanding of this wonderful Kairos Ministry of which we are a part. What a great privilege we have to bring the love of Christ into the prisons, and what a joy to experience the breadth and depth of the Kairos family. We are truly blessed.