Kay Warren, wife of megapastor and bestselling author Rick Warren, isn’t the typical pastor’s wife. Coming out of years of traditional pastor’s wife work at Saddleback Church, home to some 21,000 attendants each weekend, Warren now finds herself at the forefront of a major evangelical push to fight AIDS and assist those affected, even if it means putting her own life on the line. And she's putting it in writing.

CP: As a pastor’s wife, you’re not doing the typical role that a pastor’s wife plays. What kind of response have you gotten from your church and has that changed over the last three years?

Warren: We’ve been here 26 years and 23 of those years I did just about everything. Over the years since we started Saddleback, I’ve done everything from stand behind the donut table to pass out bulletins to scrub toilets to taking care of the nursery, church secretary, church pianist, women’s ministry director … I’ve done all of those things that pastors’ wives are usually involved in in one way or another. It’s just in the last few years as God has shifted by focus, I’ve been doing probably a little more non-traditional pastor’s wife kind of things. more >>

While American churchgoers have sat comfortably in the pews, Compassion International has extended relief and care to hundreds of thousands of poverty-stricken and HIV-infected children around the world. For 55 years, the Christian child advocacy ministry has worked through the local church to keep children on their feet.

When dealing with children infected with AIDS, the Western Church has largely remained absent, Compassion International President Wess Stafford noted. Although identified as the “masters” at avoiding suffering, American churches are just now waking up to the widespread humanitarian crisis, giving Stafford a hope for the Church that he had never felt before in his decades of ministry. The Christian Post sat down with Stafford at a recent Global AIDS Summit at Saddleback Church to discuss Compassion’s work and the rise of the Western Church against AIDS.

CP: NGOs have been dealing with AIDS for a long time, much longer than the Church, and speakers at the Global AIDS Summit have repeatedly said that the Church is vital to the equation, which includes the government and NGOs. When did NGOs like yours realize the need for the Church? more >>

A word once shunned by churches is now overwhelmingly embraced as Christians mobilize to confront one of the world’s leading causes of death.

Christians ranging from megachurch pastors to humanitarian workers to students are increasingly moving to the forefront in the battle against AIDS.

“On December 1, World AIDS Day, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America joins with millions of people in hundreds of countries to take up this theme [“Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.”],” wrote the Rev. Mark Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), in a statement released Wednesday. more >>

The media, secular and religious worlds are joining forces for the 25th anniversary of HIV and the annual World AIDS Day on Friday.

Stopping the spread of HIV and AIDS is not the only focus of the upcoming observance of a pandemic that has yet to slow down. This year's World AIDS Day is shouting for an end to HIV ignorance and prejudice which are fueling the spread of the disease.

Spreading HIV and AIDS awareness to audiences worldwide – especially the younger generation – seven of the world's leading advertising agencies will launch commercials Friday for the Turn on TV campaign that speaks of abstinence, fidelity and condom use. more >>

LONDON – Christian Aid welcomed the Vatican’s reconsideration of condoms, as a study commissioned by Pope Benedict XVI could mean a historic change in the anti-condom stance of the Roman Catholic Church.

The study looks at the role of condoms in the prevention of HIV transmission and is now being reviewed by theologians at the Vatican for potential use in a Papal document. Until now, the use of condoms has been condemned.

Pope Benedict’s health advisor has recommended that condoms could be used to save lives, as they can prevent the transmission of HIV. more >>

People who suffer from AIDS or other infectious diseases should not be victims of prejudice, rejection and indifference, said Pope Benedict XVI on Friday.

"Among the prejudices that hinder or limit efficient care for victims of infectious diseases is the attitude of indifference and even exclusion or rejection which sometimes emerges in a rich society," the pontiff told participants at a conference on the pastoral care of patients with infectious diseases.

The pope's comments come at a time when HIV infection is rising in every region of the world. The United Nations announced Tuesday that an estimated 39.5 million people worldwide are infected with the virus. This year, 4.5 million more became infected with HIV. more >>