Churches to Enter AIDS 'Race Against Time' at Saddleback

Hundreds of church leaders will enter the "Race Against Time" at Purpose Driven Church - Saddleback's second HIV/AIDS conference in November and many are saying it's already long overdue for churches to join the fight.

"It's past time for those who claim to be Christ's followers to join the struggle against the devastation that the HIV virus brings," said Kay Warren in a released statement. "We must get in the race to stop AIDS and to care for the millions already affected."

Confirmed speakers at this year's Global Summit on AIDS and the Church, 30 November to 1 December, include evangelist Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan's Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association; Dennis Rainey, president of Family Life; John Ortberg, author and teaching pastor at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church; and Bishop Charles E. Blake, pastor of West Angeles Church of God in Christ, among others.

Politicians are also featured speakers in the church mix including U.S. Senators Sam Brownback and Barack Obama. Other session speakers include Ambassador Mark Dybul, United States global AIDS coordinator; Robert Redfield, M.D. of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland; and Edward Green, Ph.D, Harvard University anthropologist and AIDS prevention authority.

"Most people expect the government, not the Church, to take care of people living with HIV/AIDS," Rick Warren said. "But Jesus, speaking to his Church, said, 'I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'"