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Saddleback HIV/AIDS Initiative  As a global pandemic, HIV/AIDS affects our world and our communities. As Christians called to care, it is our desire to reach and touch those infected and affected by HIV and/or AIDS. Join us as we interface with local and international communities, demonstrating the love of Christ to all in need.
Initial strategies and this website are in the process of development. If you are interested in serving, or conversely, have a personal need that needs to be served, use this site as a place to gain access to people at Saddleback who share your area of interest and want to serve. Task force groups are forming now. Serving opportunities for individuals or entire small groups are numerous. As this site is developed, more information will be offered.
A Message from KAY WARREN
God grabbed my heart two years ago. I knew nothing about HIV/AIDS and harbored the same fears and misconceptions that are commonly held in our culture. As I became aware of the number of children orphaned by AIDS, I began to sob and confess that I did not love and care for the people in this horrific crisis the way our God does. I became convinced that the local church was not responding to this Global giant in a meaningful way. Genuine heart-change and genuine reaching to others in the love of Christ can only be done effectively in and through the church. With a biblical mandate and a softened heart, I personally invite you to join in the adventure of reaching every person with the love of God.
Why should Christians and the Church care about people with HIV/AIDS?
Learn why by viewing our HIV/AIDS Awareness video by Kay Warren (running time 7 minutes).
HIV/AIDS
NEXT STEPS FOR SMALL GROUPS
REACHING OUT LOCALLY
ON-GOING OPPORTUNITIES
SMALL GROUP CARE TEAMS
Your small group can walk alongside people affected or infected with HIV/AIDS. Offer friendship during an especially difficult time in their lives. Training provided.
PRAY WITH OTHERS IN YOUR COMMUNITY
Join with others in your community with the same burden for people with HIV. Are you willing to host a prayer group that would meet once or twice a month to pray for HIV related requests specific to your area? Take the concerns, plans, and cares of those affected by HIV/AIDS and those loving them to the throne of God. The crucial component to touching the world involves you and your small group praying for others. Receive frequent updates on requests along with reports for praise.
VOLUNTEER FOR CALLS AND FOLLOW-UP
Do you have a couple of hours a week to serve with others in a calling project over the next several weeks? Be on a team focused on connecting needs and people. You make a difference!
VOLUNTEER FOR THE RESEARCH TEAM
HIV/AIDS research is a daunting project – medical strategies, population segments, analyzing resources (web/other), community interviews, data management – not to mention churches, agencies and government resources… Join a team of researchers committed to processing together the needs of our area. We need your gifts!
To sign up for any of these opportunities, please write Elizabeth Styffe at elizabeths@saddleback.net.
HIV/AIDS
SMALL GROUP PRAYER GUIDE
"Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart." Colossians 4:2
LOCAL Needs
- Pray that those in our community who are infected or affected by HIV/AIDS will know God's love through us.
- Pray that our church will respond to the needs.
- Pray for small groups who will come alongside those with HIV.
- Pray that the HIV/AIDS Task Force will assist small groups effectively and build bridges to our community. Pray that the special projects in 2005 will bring hope, healing, and the Good News of God's love.
- It is estimated that 10,000 people in Orange County are HIV positive.
- 3,000 people in Orange County have AIDS.
- Of the new infections this year, over 50 percent were women.
- The infection rate is increasing in Orange County.
- Few churches in Orange County have any specific means of reaching those with HIV.
- 900,000 people live with AIDS in the USA.
- Approximately 2 young Americans become infected every hour of every day.
"They will know you are My Disciples if you love one another." John 13:35
GLOBAL Needs
- Pray for the church to be a place of hope, information, and care.
- Pray for those who need the resources of prevention education, treatment, and care.
- Pray for strength & comfort for the caregivers of those with HIV/AIDS.
- Pray that orphans will be loved and cared for by the church.
- Pray that the church will have wisdom as they develop biblical and effective strategies for prevention, treatment, and care.
- Pray that millions will have compassion on those infected and affected with HIV/AIDS.
- Pray that compassion will be translated into action as millions are willing to go to bring PEACE.
- There are 40 MILLION people with HIV/AIDS in the world. (That's the same as if every single person in California, Oregon, and Nevada was infected.)
- Globally, one child dies per minute of HIV/AIDS.
- There are 15 MILLION children who have been orphaned in Africa alone due to HIV/AIDS. (That's the same as if every child in California was orphaned.)
- 700,000 children received HIV from their mothers at birth last year.
- 3 million people died of HIV/AIDS last year, more than in any previous year.
"So we have continued praying for you ever since we first heard about you…" Colossians 1:9
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Statistics taken from: US Dept. of Health and Human Services, UNAIDS, and CDC
Would you like to learn more about the global HIV/AIDS pandemic?
Suggested resources:
The Skeptics Guide to the Global AIDS Crisis: Tough Questions, Direct Answers
By Dale Hanson Bourke
Copyright © October 24, 2004 by Authentic
Paperback: 96 pages
ISBN: 1932805206
Price: $7.99
The aWAKE Project: Uniting Against the African AIDS Crisis
Compiled by Jenny Eaton and Kate Etue
Copyright © 2002 by W. Publishing Group
Paperback: 297 pages
ISBN: 0-8499-4409-0
Price: $14.99
He Intends Victory: Real-life stories of Christians living with AIDS and how Jesus touched them
By Dan Wooding
Copyright © 1994 by Promise Publishing Company
Paperback: 163 pages
ASIN: B0006PD4F2
Price: $5.00
The Hope Factor: Engaging the Church in the HIV/AIDS Crisis
by Tetsunao Yamamori (Ed.), et al.
Copyright © November 1, 2004 by Authentic Media
Paperback: 352 pages
ISBN: 1932805117
Price: $18.99
Rethinking AIDS Prevention : Learning from Successes in Developing Countries
by Edward C. Green
Copyright © December 5, 2003 by Praeger Publishers
Hardcover: 392 pages
ISBN: 0865693161
Price: $39.95
SMALL GROUPS. . .
IDENTIFY AN AREA OF INTEREST
Contact the individual working in his or her respective area(s) to gain valuable information on how you can make a significant difference in the lives of those infected or affected by HIV/AIDS.
Are you interested in GENERAL INFORMATION REGARDING THE HIV/AIDS TASK FORCE AND FOCUS TEAMS?
Contact: Elizabeth Styffe, Director of Saddleback HIV/AIDS Initiative at elizabeths@saddleback.net
Are you interested in CARE TEAMS?
(Going into homes, offering rides to appointments, etc.)
Contact: Elizabeth Styffe at elizabeths@saddleback.net
Are you interested in SUPPORT GROUPS?
(Leading or attending a support group)
Contact: Bob Baker at bobb@saddleback.net
Are you interested in EDUCATION TEAMS?
(Identifying, evaluating, and developing core curricula to be used both locally and internationally for prevention and intervention)
Contact: Elizabeth Styffe at elizabeths@saddleback.net
Are you interested in PRAYER TEAMS for people infected/affected by HIV/AIDS and related issues?
Contact: Elizabeth Styffe at elizabeths@saddleback.net
Are you interested in INTERNATIONAL FOCUS TEAMS?
(Preparing/equipping Pilot Teams/Small Groups)
Contact: Elizabeth Styffe at elizabeths@saddleback.net
Are you interested in RESEARCH?
Contact: Elizabeth Styffe at elizabeths@saddleback.net
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