Jake Kruger K-Praise Interview

On July 27, 2019, our very own Jake Kruger was interviewed on the Community Focus Show on K-Praise. Listen in as he speaks about how the KAIROS Prison Ministry helps to transform the lives of those incarcerated.

TRANSCRIPTION VIA SOFTWARE OF THE FIRST 10 MINUTES (Please excuse any typos or errors):

With me on the show today is Jake Krueger and he is the chairman for Recruitment and Outreach and we’re going to talk about the inside and the outside of the ministry. Jake welcome to the show at the pleasure to have you. Noah thanks and I’m really glad they’re excited to be here in the studio with you. what a pleasure to have you first off let’s start with the vision of KAIROS which is a community spiritually freed from the effects of imprisonment reaching impacted by incarceration through the love Hope and Faith found in Jesus Christ simple and you guys bring just that to these incarcerated and otherwise there would be no help and I imagine you see lives transformed on a pretty regular basis absolutely we talked about this the last recording in a four-day event we literally see Miracles revealed before our eyes and sometimes they’re subtle and sometimes their dramatic but all the time they are impacted by Lights by individuals and we change lives one life at a time when individual at a time and we build relationships we do it in a manner that I’m disrespectful to the rules and regulations of the institution we’re not supposed to be building personal relationships are not doing pen pals we’re not bringing gifts things of that nature where a Ministry representing Jesus Christ in it and we do that I’m on a personal basis are on a personal level so it’s a very powerful thing in the vision statement in our documentation really speaks to that about being spiritually what does the Eaton whether they’re in there for maybe a lighter matter or a or a harsher crime the mentality just being there can open just be one are there is there’s nothing to live for that’s right and you know I I I don’t want to speak negatively to the institution itself is something that the public demands and commit a crime you break the law that you do you do a penal sentenced that’s what it’s there for the majority of the public says that’s what we want what we do is we bring light into that environment and we do it no cost to the taxpayer we do it as volunteers we give our time and we fund this ourselves and we do it out of passion and love because we’ve been blessed and touched by the love of Jesus Christ and not Redemption of his Saving Grace and so it’s our way of giving back and what we learned over the course of applying ourselves in this ministry is that when you give you receive exponentially in the mission goes hand-in-hand with the vision and the mission of KAIROS prison ministry is to share that transforming love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ to impact the hearts and the lives incarcerated men women and use as well as their families that’s a huge part 2 to become loving and productive citizens of their communities it’s giving them life so to speak so they can actually feel engage with those around them while they’re in prison and then once they’re out and they could become again productive Christian men and women of society once again I know we talked about that on the last session really about the KAIROS prison ministry ministers to the institution of the family and its really didn’t conquer is his number one playing in the devil’s rulebooks right and so focusing on the family per se in that terribly strange relationship where one of the family is incarcerated another is living behind the bars of their own guilt and shame and and fear and certainly with the youth at risk youth is a huge huge issue in our society and impacts ever social class I myself am a product of at-risk Youth just being a product of divorce and that’s where it starts the desire that we have to be included in something so gangs are so attractive to the youth that sort of thing so we’ve had the opportunity as volunteers to learn a lot about that first hand from those who’ve lived it and for those who had that transformation like the mission statement says transformed by the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ it’s a powerful statement testimony because they have the ability to witness to those who are like them and had similar experiences one of the things about as we kind of get into the weeds what’s it like to be a volunteer is you know volunteers well we come from all walks of life Financial our backgrounds are absolutely nothing agree with it you sign that now we’re on common ground and we can go in there and minister in in unity and solidarity and represent Jesus Christ my rose is not something to be taken lightly there has to be a lot of time devoted and a lot of mental capacity if you were to do this because you’re going to be with these people trying to reach them on a spiritual and emotional level and it’s not something you can just go in go out and call it a day that’s right I don’t want to intimidate in any way but I always want to be open and sincere when I talk to people when I’m worried about what is this taken terms of a commitment because it is significant but if you are you know if you’re committed to something then you put the time in my daughter was a competitive gymnast and we understand that Elite athletes they say you know 10,000 hours of training to become that Elite so I know guys that have been doing Prison Ministry for 20-25 years here in San Diego they put in that 10,000 hours there the elite and they are not their men to admire and you know they’re so humble they have such character so I do know I’m just inspired to be able to serve alongside of these folks and and they see me as someone who’s the leader and that wasn’t something I aspired to that’s gets so what it really boils down to is Discerning bouquet my story was I was invited to participate early on I’ve been doing Prison Ministry for 20 years and I was resistant that’s a natural response to hey I’d like to go to prison yeah I can come up with any number of excuses and also know as a Christian we have to accept it if God’s knocking on the door of our heart he’s doing it for a reason he’s given us a gift and and he’s asking us to engage a lot of folks we say you know just your touch your boundaries expand your environment be willing to step out of your comfort zone and prison ministry certainly is one of those opportunities but after having done it for 20 years I can so I’m actually more comfortable in that environment than I am in other environments that I need to keep pushing my envelope as well you don’t really know especially today’s day and age what’s going to be thrown at you you know what you’re getting when you when you’re going into Donovan so to speak to the people that you’re going to be around and so you have that expectation that it’s almost a comfort level not to be statements taken with Donovan’s Steakhouse so it’s an interesting Paradox because although it is extremely structured you know that the inmates really are limited to maybe 25 or 30 decisions that they can make that change or impact their lives on a daily basis as opposed to you and I hope maybe have a hundred to $300 and we making any given day I saw their tears are limited by the institution so we’re at the Inn at the mercy of the institution it’s all about security that comes first and last and everything in between ensure we have to respect that and if there is a situation program shut down today guys hit the road you know and we do so respectfully take it very seriously will be back next week looks like so you know what that’s one of those things about the Holy Spirit working is we have no juice as it were in prison you know we have no Authority we have no nothing more than just the responsibility that that has volunteers will show up if we say we’re going to to facilitate a program and that’s really on the chaplain side it’s not on the administration so that’s kind of the Paradox that I see is we go in there hoping optimistically expecting but often times you know where turn back and it’s just a matter of that’s the way it is in prison and we think we hear Community Focus so pleased to have with me in studio This Time Jake Krueger from KAIROS prison ministry and it really comes back to Matthew 25:36 I needed clothes and you clothed me I was sick and you looked after me I was in prison and you came to visit me a powerful statement and something that we should really ask brothers and sisters in the Lord take pretty seriously it is it’s one of those locations that you know you kind of tend to skip over that when you’re reading through that looking for here I’m kind of going through the buffet at looking for Ministries I want to get involved that sounds like a lot of fun when there’s something else I can do why I said that earlier and that’s that’s such a profound statement it’s right to the point and that’s a good place for us as Christians to live is don’t be a great resume because what you’ll find is there’s a lot of snares I’ll be running around in your comfort zone and getting out of your comfort zone I think there’s more people that you can help then just the okay what we’re going to help today and you’re inside your brain since I come into the office I see the same people almost of this on a daily basis I you know how can I help you how can I serve you but for the most part people I work with are brothers and sisters in the Lord you’re not really going to change somebody’s life eternally cuz they’ve already accepted Christ to go out of that comfort zone two people that maybe don’t know God but don’t know Jesus that’s an amazing thing that’s something that I think we should be seeking as Christians you know there’s a strategy and structure to the way that KAIROS operate so for example when we look for candidates for inmates to invite to a KAIROS program we really seek a balance both racially and in terms of religious background so religious freedom is really taken seriously in the prison system so whether you are a Christian or Muslim a Jew a Wiccan a Satanist they all have equal rights and equal opportunity shirt worship as they see fit so we have the opportunity to invite all of those different beliefs structures as well as that we want to see a balance in the race because race really is a big key factor within that the prison politics.

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