Picture yourself in a comfortable room, feeling relaxed after a scrumptious meal with four eager SIM appointees, all counting down the days before they embark on their long-awaited overseas assignments. They are well trained and looking forward to using their professional skills in the context of HIV and AIDS. Although the language should not be a problem for any of them, they are eager to discuss the cross-cultural challenges that lie ahead.

Then, out of the blue, comes the question, “Will there be opportunities for me to do spiritual ministry?”

Compassion as Spiritual Ministry

	An Ethiopian woman stands with her children in front of her home (Melissa Lukenbaugh photo)

As you consider how best to answer, you picture in your mind the multitudes of human beings infected and affected by HIV and AIDS who will be in heaven because God’s people demonstrated His unconditional love and acceptance to them. You think of Jesus’ compassion toward the ten lepers (Luke 17:12-19)––ministering to ten though only one responded (at that moment) in faith. You look at the four eager faces in front of you, and are quietly confident that God’s kingdom will be extended through them.

So why their concern about spiritual ministry? It’s so easy for those of us saturated in Western thinking to default into separating the sacred from the secular, the spiritual from the physical, and the supernatural from the natural. The tendency is then to subconsciously compartmentalize ministry into “real” or “supporting,” thinking ministry ceases to be real when it isn’t spiritual.

This contrasts with the Old Testament concept of shalom—God’s ideal of just, peaceful, harmonious, and enjoyable relationships with Him, each other, ourselves, and our environment. Shalom embraces the physical, social, mental, and spiritual—all linked intricately together. Peter reminds us that we should use whatever gift we have received to serve others, “faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10).

"Care-able" AIDS

HIV and AIDS is the context in which many of us in SIM are challenged to reflect God’s hope and grace. Despite our best efforts, the total number of people living with HIV in the world continues to rise. Stigma and discrimination remain major obstacles. AIDS is not curable, but it is care-able. God calls us to work as teams, together ministering by word and deed.