Kolbe Prison Ministries (“KPM”) is a Texas 501 (c)(3) charitable organization whose mission is “To share the agape love of Jesus Christ with those in prison and to teach the fullness of the truth of the Catholic Church to the incarcerated.” We carry out this mission by volunteers presenting a three-day retreat to 40-66 inmates within the prison walls followed by ongoing faith-based education and formation. These retreats involve close interaction with retreatant inmates and include fellowship, good food, Christian music, heartfelt talks and testimonials, comradery, religious activities and more. We are led by God’s call in Matthew 25:36 (“I was in prison and you visited me”) to visit those imprisoned. This ministry, through corporal works of mercy, has enriched and reinvigorated the spiritual lives of thousands of inmates. Many of the inmates open their hearts to the word of God and begin to make positive changes in their lives. KPM has presented many hundreds of retreats at well over 60 prisons in several U.S. states, to over 16,000 offenders. The feedback from KPM retreat participants, chaplains and prison wardens has been overwhelmingly positive. KPM has a local Core Team (leadership group) in Plano that manages and serves in the retreats in multiple North Texas incarceration facilities.
As in Jesus' story in Luke 15 of rescuing the one lost sheep while leaving the other 99 to fend for themselves, KPM helps to "spiritually" rescue the lost sheep incarcerated in prison. Jesus concluded his parable about the lost sheep by saying: "I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." In rescuing lost sheep, KPM is essentially in the life saving and joy-creating business.
"To share the agape love of Jesus Christ with those in prison and to teach the fullness of the truth of the Catholic Church to the incarcerated."
The primary financial costs to carry out this ministry involve the retreats. With up to 66 inmate retreatants, 25-35 KPM volunteer team members and 12-20 inside team members (inmate stewards/servers), there are typically around 100+ plates to serve for each of the five meals of a KPM retreat. Additional costs are incurred for transportation of equipment/supplies inventory, expendable provisions, snacks and beverages, published materials, religious medals/rosaries, priest stipends, and replacement of wear and tear items. Depending on the level of in-kind contributions primarily for food, if any, the outlay for each retreat can be in the range of $3,000 - $6,000. Historically, the retreat costs have primarily been covered through donations by the retreat team volunteers. However, this largely “self-funding” model is not sustainable, and will be an obstacle to reaching more inmates for Christ. The target is to have two KPM retreats each year at the facilities where we serve which could amount to 8-10 retreats annually in the North Texas area.
Organization name
Kolbe Prison Ministries
Causes
Justice-involved adults or youth
Operating Budget
Less than $100,000
Counties Served
Dallas, Fannin, Wise
BIPOC Serving
Black or African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic or Latinx, Native American, Other
BIPOC Leadership
Neither/None
Address
P.O. Box 261471