Evangelicals + AIDS Activism

From an article in USA Today:

Nearly 2,000 pastors have traveled to Orange County's Saddleback Church for a national conference that coincides with World AIDS Day on Thursday. On the agenda: How to start local AIDS ministries and free HIV testing in churches... Churches have realized that AIDS isn't a "gay disease" and can't be easily labeled, even in the United States, said Doug McConnell, dean of School of Intercultural Studies at the Pasadena-based Fuller Theological Seminary. Interest in domestic ministries has steadily grown in the past five years, he noted... "The church has the moral authority to say, 'Hey, it's not a sin to be sick,'" said Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, a best-selling book. "The Gospels repeatedly show that Jesus loved, touched, and cared for lepers - the diseased outcasts of his day. Today's 'lepers' are those who have HIV/AIDS."

Here's another article from Christianity Today.