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What’s Different about this Initiative
Local Church Mobilization: Ordinary people in churches are launched into action. As an untapped source, people living with HIV are also emphasized as peer leaders and teachers.
Local Leadership: Rwandan pastors, government leaders, business leaders and healthcare workers lead this initiative. Partners outside Rwanda serve the vision of this local church-initiated model. Essential to this new approach are both professionals and non-professionals in healthcare delivery.
Extensive Partnerships: A solid foundation has been established for future interaction and collaboration between pastors, church members, government, hospitals, clinics, the community, existing agencies, and people living with AIDS.
Proven Track-Record: World-renowned leaders in every related field guide the Initiative. Experience in Malawi, Zambia, and 14 other countries contribute to the strength of the Initiative.
Proven Methods: The Initiative incorporates proven methods including
Community Development Training, the C.H.U.R.C.H. strategy, and the principles for Purpose Driven churches. All three methods have proven successful in
developing countries and are easily implemented by nonprofessionals.
Scalable and Reproducible Models: The Initiative is fully integrated with the overall national Rwandan health program, which includes the mandate for replication. The ability to transfer this model to other regions and countries
is a key measurement of success.
Reporting on Outcomes: Monitoring, evaluating and reporting outcomes
are key. The Partners will continually monitor and evaluate real and
measureable targets.
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“We never do for others what they can be trained to do for themselves. It’s easy to go into a country and just do things for others, but we are interested in far more than that. The answer to every problem is training – helping others help themselves. We are not worried about how long it takes or how fast it goes. We’re building a network to last.”
Dr. Rick Warren,
Pastor, Saddleback Church
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“Any church can implement the C.H.U.R.C.H. strategy – rich, poor, large, small,
urban or rural. It doesn’t cost money to care for sick people, encourage HIV
testing, mobilize volunteers,
remove stigma, promote healthy sexual behavior,
or remind people to take
their medication.”
Kay Warren,
Executive Director,
Saddleback Church HIV/AIDS Initiative,
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The C.H.U.R.C.H. strategy
While there is no cure, there are at least six ways that every church can make a significant and positive impact on those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS:
CARE FOR AND SUPPORT THE SICK
Churches are commanded to care. It is their calling. Love leaves no choice! Local congregations are the only caring organization found in almost every community around the world. Members can offer physical and emotional care in homes.
HANDLE HIV TESTING AND COUNSELING
Churches are the most trusted organizations in communities so people may be more willing to be tested and counseled there. Just being tested has proven to
promote healthier behavior. Members can be trained to give medical, emotional, and family counsel to those receiving results from their testing.
UNLEASH A FORCE OF VOLUNTEERS
Churches have the largest volunteer labor force on the planet – over 2 billion members. There aren’t enough professionals in the world to teach prevention, administer
treatment, and offer care to those who need it. There is an enormous pool of
untapped talent and energy sitting unused in churches waiting to be mobilized.
REMOVE THE STIGMA
Churches must embrace those infected. They can replace rejection with mercy.
The church must remove abuse and alienation. They offer faith, hope, love, forgiveness, grace, and spiritual support which neither business nor government can offer.
CHAMPION HEALTHY BEHAVIOR
HIV/AIDS is complex, yet preventable. Churches have the moral obligation to promote healthy behavior, and offer moral directives for the family. They teach the moral motivation for abstinence and faithfulness. Resisting peer pressure and relapse requires a supportive faith community.
HELP WITH HIV MEDICATIONS (ARVS)
The church has the largest distribution network on the planet. It’s already in place worldwide! Millions of villages have a church, but nothing else. For treatment to become universal, we must develop church supported treatment models. Members can be trained to distribute and support HIV/AIDS medications and support essential nutrition. The church can offer pre-treatment preparation, treatment education, adherence support, direct observation therapy (DOT) and treatment coaching to
the entire family.
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Why the Church
A foundational tenet of the Western Rwanda HIV/AIDS Healthcare Initiative is the focus on a church-initiated healthcare delivery system which partners with business, government and the health sector to provide wholistic and comprehensive healthcare. Government, business and relief agencies have not been able to keep pace with the rapid growth of the HIV/AIDS
pandemic. Local churches are essential and offer several advantages:
1. THE CHURCH HAS THE LARGEST PARTICIPATION – With over 2.1 billion members the church has the largest volunteer labor force. There will never be enough professional doctors, nurses, teachers, and lawyers. There is an enormous pool of untapped talent, brains, energy, and relationships sitting unused in churches that could be mobilized.
2. THE CHURCH HAS THE WIDEST DISTRIBUTION – In every village around the world, there may not be a post office, hospital, or school but there is a church. In many places the only social structure is a church. The church is the only truly global organization. If you have an idea, a product, or medication that needs to get to local people, the most efficient way is through the church. The local church is an existing, largely underutilized, distribution channel.
3. THE CHURCH HAS THE SIMPLEST ADMINISTRATION – Local churches are grassroots networks, and networks always move faster than centralized bureaucracies.
4. THE CHURCH HAS THE FASTEST PROLIFERATION – To beat a rapidly expanding pandemic you need a distribution network that is growing faster than the problem. The only thing that is growing more rapidly than the pandemic is the church.
5. THE CHURCH HAS THE LONGEST CONTINUATION – The church has been around for more than 2,000 years. Empires, governments and
corporations come and go, but the church will last into eternity.
6. THE CHURCH HAS THE STRONGEST AUTHORIZATION – Jesus Christ created the church and gave it his authority to do good in the world. He
authorized his followers to go into the world. In the Great Commission he said “all authority is given to me in heaven and earth…therefore go.”
7. THE CHURCH HAS THE HIGHEST MOTIVATION – There’s political motivation and profit motivation, but the highest motivation is our Savior Jesus Christ who commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves.
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“The greatest health problem for much of the world is not a lack of medicine, but a lack of access to it. There will never be enough
professionals – doctors, nurses, and clinics – to care for all of the health needs in the world. But there is a church in practically every village of the world, and volunteers ready and willing to be trained. The PEACE Plan is an amateur movement. It is led by people who are motivated by love, not money or fame.”
Dr. Rick Warren,
Pastor, Saddleback Church
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