Today is National HIV Testing Day, a day designed to encourage voluntary HIV testing and counseling. St. Timothy Community Church in Gary, Ind. decided to get involved and hosted a free HIV screening at their church.
“This testing is a necessary experience that all people should participate in,” said the Rev. Robert Lowery, pastor at St. Timothy. “In times like this, we all have to think outside the box and create empowerment when it comes to the health of our people.”
After some Christians responded to HIV in the 1980s by characterizing it as ‘God’s vengeance on homosexuals,’ it’s encouraging to see churches getting personally involved in fighting HIV/AIDS. While this has little to do with marketing and would hopefully be motivated by much more than marketing, it’s a perfect example that actions speak louder than words. What your church does speaks so much louder than any sermon, mission statement or postcard.
