Outreach idea: Testing with compassion
By Rebecca Barnes

This article originally appeared in Outreach magazine's "Idea Bank - Nov./Dec." online at www.outreachmagazine.com. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Submitted by: Maple Street Baptist Church, Des Moines, Iowa 

Not often does a pastor ask people to get up and leave during his sermon. But that’s what Rev. Keith Ratliff Sr. of Maple Street Baptist Church in Des Moines, Iowa, did on a recent Sunday. As he preached on the spread of HIV/AIDS around the world, and its prevalence among blacks in his own community, he encouraged those listening to head down to the church basement where volunteer nurses were set up to conduct confidential HIV/AIDS tests.

“Compassion is needed, love is needed,” Ratliff says. “It isn’t important how a person gets infected. It’s important that the Church takes the lead and is there to help.”

Consider coordinating an on-site HIV/AIDS-testing day at your church on World AIDS Day, Dec. 1.

How to do it:

At Maple Street, three county health department nurses volunteered their time to help with testing. They also coordinated the necessary testing supplies.

Place notices about the testing in local newspapers and community newsletters, and use your congregation to spread the news about on-site testing by word of mouth. Let people know the tests are confidential, safe, easy and painless—they’re done orally with a cotton swab.

Provide small rooms where people can meet one-on-one with the nurse or medical professional administering the test.

Enlist volunteers to usher and direct congregants to testing rooms. Maple Street’s ushers moved from the back of the sanctuary to the front, directing three or four people at a time, during the sermon.

Make sure all participants leave their address. The health department will mail test results to the participants usually within two weeks. Offer to provide spiritual support or counseling for those who may be HIV-positive.

Supply educational information about HIV/AIDS. One of the biggest challenges, according to Ratliff, is that people still don’t understand all the risks of infection. Information can be downloaded at avert.org, cdc.gov/hiv/ and aidsalliance.org, among many other Web sites.

Cost:

Many health agencies provide tests free of charge and may cooperate with churches interested in on-site testing. Your costs will be fliers and advertising.

From the church:

Of the 400 worshippers, Ratliff estimates that about 90% took the test, which he says was not provided just for the health of his congregation, but for the entire community.

“It was established as an outreach to the community, to get people to not only think about it, but hopefully go out and get tested,” he says. “We wanted to send out a message that none of us is perfect.”