INNOVATIVE MINISTRIES n INNOVATIVE MINISTRIES n INNOVATIVE FORMING An HIV/AIDS Ministry

TOGETHER By Emily Holladay

More than 50,000 people receive a positive HIV diagnosis each year in the United States. This rise has been particularly painful in the “Bible Belt” region, where HIV is now considered a “Southern Epidemic.” Due to the stigma of HIV and AIDS in many Christian communities, the same resources are not always available to infected patients who live in the Southern United States as in other areas of the country. Wayne Smith, a member of Central Baptist Church of Bearden, a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) partner church in Knoxville, Tennessee, saw this lack of resources in his own community and decided to respond. “Wayne saw an incredible need and a lack of response in the

Christian community to that need,” shared Wade Bibb, pastor of Central Baptist Bearden. “He approached the previous pastor, Larry Fields, about the ministry opportunity. Larry wisely advised him to focus on the biblical imperative of caring for the sick, and the ministry took off from there.” Smith founded Samaritan Ministry in 1996 to serve people

affected by HIV in East Tennessee through direct support and education. The organization started as a ministry of Central Baptist, and many church members quickly embraced Samaritan Ministry’s commitment to providing compassionate care to those living with HIV. Five years later, when he retired from his career in education,

Smith sought to expand his base of partners for Samaritan Ministry. After attending a workshop led by Ircel Harrison, former coordinator of the Tennessee Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (TCBF), Smith knew that CBF was just the kind of partner he was looking for. “Both Central Baptist and CBF have given much to us with

in-kind support of our organization,” Smith noted. “The role of CBF for us has been to infuse into our organizational DNA that the most important thing we can do to help others, especially the disenfranchised, is to be the presence of Christ in their lives.” Empowered by the church community at Central Baptist

and CBF to fulfill its important mission, Samaritan Ministry often finds itself serving alongside the most marginalized individuals in East Tennessee. Being the only faith-based HIV-advocacy organization in the area, they have a unique voice to bring to those suffering from the debilitating and dehumanizing disease. “The last time that Wayne and I were

in the Women’s Detention Center doing an education class with a group of women who were incarcerated for various reasons, I remember one woman asking, ‘Why do you take your time to come and talk to us?”’ recalled Stacey Bristow, a volunteer tester and educator with Samaritan Ministry. “Wayne and I were able to share that we care about their heath and well-being, but more importantly, that God cares for them.

14 BAPTIST WORLD MAGAZINE

Wayne Smith, founder of

Samaritan Ministry

OVATIVE MINISTRIES n INN

“It was amazing to see the looks on their faces, because so

often these women don’t receive any love or respect. We were able to commit to them that we would remember and pray for them as they learned how to make better choices in their lives moving forward.” Smith regularly attends conferences on AIDS education as an ambassador for Samaritan Ministry. More often than not, he finds that Samaritan Ministry is the only faith-based organization represented at such events. “Wayne has incredible stories to share about the annual AIDS

conference he attends,” Bibb said. “As people see the ‘Baptist Church’ booth, some respond with anger saying, ‘Why are you here?’ until they meet and talk to him. Others will just stop, look, start crying and ask things like, ‘Where are the others?’ or ‘Why did it take so long?”’ This commitment to faith-based advocacy has led Samaritan Ministry to serve many places and people who are marginalized by the same church that worships Christ who healed the sick and touched the skin of even the most unclean. As a representative of this healing and compassionate God, Smith and Samaritan Ministry are able to share the hope of the gospel with those who need to hear it most. Because of this unique platform, doors continue to open for

Smith to share his passion. Smith was invited to attend a White House Summit to address the continued spread of HIV in the South.

“The White House Summit was an effort to bring together stakeholders from all over the South to take a look at and define the new HIV epidemic,” Smith explained. “I was part of the Tennessee delegation, a group of state Department of Health experts and several leaders of AIDS service organizations from across the state. I was greatly honored to be included, and once again, we were the only faith component.” But Smith is not satisfied for Samaritan

Ministry to extend its voice only where the church isn’t normally present. Smith provides education

and support within

Christian communities as well, helping people of faith see beyond the stigma of HIV, so they can reach out with Christ’s love. Emily Holladay is associate pastor of

children and families at Broadway Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. A fuller version of this article appeared in fellowship! magazine, published by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.