I listen more than I talk. I do not ask what he did in order to sit with him. I walk with people, pray with them, and remind them they are not forgotten by God.
I’m Chaplain Kris. I am an ordained Texas chaplain, an Air Force veteran, a husband, and a dad of four. This work is organized as Kris Cruz Ministries, a Texas nonprofit, so presence inside facilities and with families can be funded and governed with a board.
How I got here
The Air Force taught me structure. Show up. Do the work. Do not make the room about you.
Chaplaincy taught me the other half. Presence. Staying when there is nothing clever to say. Letting a man finish a sentence without rushing him toward a lesson.
Fatherhood is teaching me both at the same time. Some days I feel behind. Most days I am grateful God keeps giving me the next right thing to do.
I also work in media — I produce Pat Gray Unleashed at Blaze Media. That is a job I take seriously. This is the calling underneath it. If you know me from the show, this is the work that does not get a countdown clock.
What I do
I sit with men and young guys inside TDCJ, TJJD, and other North Texas facilities. Kairos is welcome. I am not there to compete with staff, volunteers, or programs already in the unit. I am there to walk alongside them.
On the outside I walk with families — prayer by name, grief support, visitation-day ache, and free handouts they can actually print and use. I cannot always carry a message through the gate. I can make sure a mother, a wife, or a son is not carrying the week alone.
When a workplace or agency asks, I come for grief, critical incidents, and the quiet weight people take home from the job. That work is contracted. Facility and family pastoral care is not. Friends of the ministry keep me showing up so the people inside never get a bill.
How I sit with someone
I do not start with the charge sheet. I start with the man in the chair.
I will pray if he wants prayer. I will open Scripture if he wants Scripture. I will sit in silence if that is what the room can hold. I will not pretend I know the whole story. I will not use his pain as a testimony without his consent.
The work is rarely flashy. It is usually presence, a Bible, and consistency. I have watched a man who thought he was beyond hope finally believe God still sees him. That is enough reason to keep driving.
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”Galatians 6:2 (NIV)
What this is not
This is pastoral care, not licensed clinical counseling and not an emergency service.
If someone is in immediate danger, call 911. If someone is in a suicide crisis, call or text 988. I will help connect people to professional resources when that is what the moment requires. I will not pretend a chaplain can replace a clinician, a lawyer, or a facility’s chain of command.
I also will not sell you a program with a funnel attached. If you need a visit, a prayer, or a straight answer about how this works, say so.
Home
I live this calling as a husband and a father of four in North Texas. My kids do not need a perfect dad. They need a present one who is still being shaped. That is the same sentence I carry into a unit.
If the house has been quiet after a loss, if a parent is behind the walls, if work followed you home — I have sat in those rooms too. Not as an expert. As a man who knows the ache is real, and that God is not only for Sundays.
What I believe
I believe the Bible is God’s Word. I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that salvation is by grace through faith in Him alone, and that every person bears the image of God — including the man the rest of the world has already written off.
Full statement of faith: Statement of Faith.
I try to live Romans 12:18 as far as it depends on me: “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (NIV)
The ministry
Kris Cruz Ministries is a Texas nonprofit formed August 30, 2026. A board governs the work. I do not list director names on this site. If a church or partner needs them, call or email me and I will share them privately.
Federal tax-exempt status is pending. Gifts are received by the nonprofit and keep the presence free to facilities and families. They cover the unglamorous things: mileage, materials, clearance, and the hours nobody sees.
I currently serve in North Texas, including TJJD and TDCJ settings such as Gainesville and Boyd Unit, and I remain open to additional facilities that want a steady chaplain presence.
“Kris has been walking with my son for about a year, and I have seen that he wants more of Jesus. The change is real — he is walking with God daily.”
If you need me
Facilities, families, churches, and workplaces can reach me the same way. I reply personally, usually the same day Monday through Friday.
Request a facility visit
Family support & prayer
Give
Workplace
Statement of Faith
Pastoral care, not clinical counseling. In an emergency call 911. For suicide crisis call or text 988.