By Bruce Sonnenberg
Special to ASSIST News Service

I Like ‘Christians Give Back’ Better

LAKE
FOREST, CA (ANS)– I just finished watching “Idol Gives
Back”, the humanitarian outreach of the number 1 hit show, Amercian Idol.
It’s a great show and weekly my wife, my kids, and even some of my grandkids
get together and discuss who “we” think should have left and who
“we” think really should have stayed.

On the latest show, Tim Urban left
and if you ask my teenage granddaughter, Madison, she thought he should have
gone weeks ago. My wife, Joni likes Aaron Kelly, my daughter Carol thinks
Crystal Bowersox should win, and I think either Big Mike Lynche or Siobhan
Magnus should win. It’s a fun, family, competitive show that encourages good
singing and a lot of enthusiasm. We’ll see in just a few weeks just who the winner
will be.

But last night, a lot of others were
the real winners. “Idol Gives Back” gave back over $15 million
(according to Simon Cowell) to those in need around the world. Good causes too.
Really helping people and their life situations.

Annie Lenox, Sir Elton John, all of
the Idol judges, Bill and Melissa Gates, and David Cook, Season 7 winner, all
had heart-touching videos of people with real needs. I’m glad they do a program
like this.

But I then I thought, “We
should do a program” like this! The “we” I thought of is us
Christians. Americans are the most generous people in the world and American
Christians are the most generous of all. I wonder how much we could raise for
good causes?

Of course, I know of a ministry that
is already in many of the same places that these other organizations are in-
Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, and twenty more! That’s the ministry of He Intends
Victory (HIV). I started HIV in 1990 from 2 guys in the church I was pastor at
who both shared with me they were HIV+. From there we’ve gone all over the
world into 10 countries of Africa, Nepal, Pakistan, Malaysia, Vietnam, India,
South America, and even Europe.

As Elton John said, “Over 33
million people worldwide are now infected with HIV with almost 1.1 million in
the USA alone!” This virus and its deadly effect on people has not gone
away nor is it going to in the future. Just ask the 12 million kids orphaned by
it.

Wouldn’t it be neat if Christian
celebrities would go public for their support of a Christian organization
dedicated to serving and helping those with HIV/AIDS? If you know any, let them
know about us. We’d love for them to help us declare that “It’s Not
Over”, this battle against AIDS. And wouldn’t it be wonderful if
Christians from all over the world stood together to show the compassion of
Jesus? And of course, wouldn’t it be cool to raise $15 million to actively
reach out to those with HIV/AIDS and say, “Here, let us help you in the
name of Jesus!”

I like “Idol Gives Back”,
but I like “Christians Give Back” even better.

If you would like more information
on the global organization, He Intends Victory including our book, “He
Intends Victory” by Dan Wooding, an inspiring book of testimonies of
Christians living with HIV, call us toll-free at 1-800-HIV-HOPE (448-4673) or
go to the website which is www.heintendsvictory.org.
And if you’d like to contribute towards that $15 million from Christians
for those with HIV, please go to our website at www.heintendsvictory.org
and make a donation. Many will be glad you did. Oh yeah, and I still hope
Siobhan wins!

Bruce Sonnenberg is the Executive Director and
Founder of He Intends Victory. A pastor and community leader for 37 years Bruce
and his wife Joni live in Lake Forest, California. Begun in 1990 as a Support
Group to those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, He Intends Victory now has
445 volunteer and paid workers in 23 countries. Dr. Rick Warren has said of
Bruce and his organization, “He Intends Victory is a real pioneer in
Christian ministry to those with AIDS around the world.”

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