The Lausanne Conference has affirmed the need for HIV and AIDS to be high on the agenda of the church in its task of World Evangelism.

Joel Edwards, Director of the UK’s Micah Challenge  said “ HIV and AIDS is one of the biggest challenges the church faces. We have made a good start with organisations like ACET and Tearfund leading the way, but we still have a long way to go.”

Speaking at the conference, where 3000 copies of the newly revised ACET handbook “AIDS Action” were handed to delegates, founder Dr Patrick Dixon said, “To help church leaders here and increase the profile of AIDS we have sought to place the book in the hands of every leader attending. The new book is a rewrite of the highly successful previous edition which reached a third of a million copies. The Director General of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, who has written the foreword, had requested the book be rewritten with all the new insight gained from ACET’s long experience of working with HIV and AIDS.

In an evening devoted to the challenge to the church of HIV and AIDS, delegates heard Rev Christo Grayling director of INERLA, an organisation supporting Christian leaders who are living with HIV. Sharing his testimony of living with HIV since 1987, he said to the applause of the audience, “As a Christian I still had hope even though  I was tested HIV positive. Now I have an HIV negative wife and two HIV free children. I want to shout it out that the church must be at the forefront of responding to HIV.”