Interview with Dr. Tom Alley

By Brad Dupray

Dr. Tom Alley is director of medical services for Fellowship of Associates of Medical Evangelism (FAME) and a member of the board of directors of Christian Missionary Fellowship (CMF), both headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The two organizations are embarking on an historic partnership to serve the people of Nairobi, Kenya, where AIDS has ravaged entire communities, leaving orphans to wander the streets. Prior to serving with FAME, Alley was global outreach pastor at East 91^st Street Christian Church, also in Indianapolis. Alley and his wife, Marty, have been married for 32 years and have four children and five grandchildren.

_______________________

Your Church and AIDS Conference
Saturday, April 19
8:30 am to 3:30 pm
East 91^st Street Christian Church
6049 East 91^st Street, Indianapolis
For information and registration, visit www.YourChurchandAids.com

_______________________

When did your passions shift from medicine to ministry?

I have never lost my passion for medicine and am still energized by the challenge of caring for a very sick person, but back in 1984 our youth minister at East 91^st asked me to help him lead a short-term mission trip to Haiti. We took a group of high school and college students to Haiti. That turned my life upside down. It gave me a whole new set of priorities and values. It gave me a glimpse of what God is doing in another part of the world, a desire to be a part of that, and a burden for lost people that I really didn”t have before.

From that point on I have organized and led 35 different short-term mission trips. Each one has been uniquely different and exciting and continues to challenge me in my spiritual journey and gives me a renewed view and desire to reach the world.

I”m guessing you”ve been to many places other than Haiti.

Ukraine, England, Costa Rica, Mexico, Chile, Belize, Honduras, Dominican Republic, and Brazil, to name a few.

Were these medical mission trips?

None has been specifically focused on medicine. They”ve been more general short-term trips. We recruit people who are interested in doing a short-term mission and look at the skills they bring to the team. We work with a missionary in the country we”re visiting and build the team around the needs of the host country. In most cases I end up doing medical work because the needs are so desperate. If we happen to have a dentist, nurse, or other medical professionals, we”ll do medical clinics. I”ve wanted to make it a good foreign mission experience for anyone in our church, and not have it restricted to medicine.

Any current trips on the docket?

There is a possibility of going to Kenya later this spring, depending on the travel situation there.

Is there a way to describe the extent of HIV and AIDS worldwide?

The number of HIV-infected people in the world has doubled in the last 10 years and is continuing to rise. In 2005, 2.8 million people died of AIDS, and half a million of those were children under the age of 15. Every day 8,000 people die as a result of AIDS, and more than 1,300 of those are children. It has been estimated that by 2010 we will have 25 million children in the world who have been orphaned by AIDS. In the past 25 years, it is said that more resources of time, money, skill, and knowledge have been invested in AIDS than in any other illness in history, yet the virus has spread to every nation on earth, infecting 65 million people and killing 25 million.

The effect of AIDS on children is something many may not have considered.

Estimates place the number of AIDS orphans in the world today at 15 million and rising. Some countries in Africa already have as many as 17 percent of children orphaned by AIDS, and the problem is growing among youth under 15 years old. The growing patterns of sexual experience earlier in life and apathy about risky behavior are taking a toll on our global youth culture. It has been estimated that in some African countries only one in two young people under age 15 will ever achieve life goals before dying of AIDS.

How do you translate those staggering numbers into concern for suffering individuals?

For the person who has never known someone with AIDS, it”s hard to relate on a personal level. What can a little person like me, or my church, do about this? It”s just every Christian becoming aware of the problem and understanding our biblical responsibility to react with the hands and feet of Christ to people who are suffering. No one person or church can do everything. The problem is too big and overwhelming. But everyone can do something and together we can accomplish much.

Do people have an aversion to this issue?

I think attitudes are changing. I have the impression from my own past observations that there was a prevalent attitude that said, “I know how they got it and it was God”s judgment on their lifestyle; they deserve what they have.” I think that attitude has changed considerably. People are seeing it”s not a disease of the homosexual lifestyle exclusively.

It is a disease that is 100 percent fatal. It”s a disease that affects people whom God loves, and we need to be concerned about their eternal destiny as much as that of a healthy person across the street who doesn”t know the Lord. We need to see the AIDS crisis worldwide through the eyes of Christ. I think the news media, as well as the work of many high-profile people, of government agencies, and of Christian as well as secular agencies are all contributing to a greater level of awareness of the devastation of this disease.

How can the church take the lead in tackling this crisis?

We want to equip the church to better understand and respond to the problem, not just overseas, but here, too. FAME has partnered with CMF to sponsor a “Your Church and AIDS” conference on Saturday, April 19, to help local churches come to a better understanding of the AIDS problem worldwide, to understand better how the disease is transmitted, as well as learn about some misunderstandings and what kind of future lies ahead for people who have AIDS.

What is the Christlike response to a global emergency like this? The conference will provide practical ways for the local churches to be involved. The church has the only effective model for compassion toward those in need, and the only message of hope that can be proclaimed. We need to take the lead!

It is truly a global crisis.

AIDS is not just a problem for Africa or India but it”s a problem in our home community, too””and all over the world. There”s not a country in the world that has been spared of AIDS. It”s hit every country on the globe””some a lot more than others.

How can a conference provide an ongoing response to the problem?

At this conference we will be introducing a project called “Hope Partnership,” which will provide social services, schooling, health care, and child care to the people in the slums of Nairobi. If people want to invest dollars or send workers they can do that by becoming a part of this project.

And the “partnership” comes from the joining of forces of FAME and CMF?

Yes. And I find it very gratifying to see the strong spirit of unity and cooperation between these two organizations. People or churches who want to make a financial investment can write their checks to CMF or FAME and the money will go to support this project. CMF has missionaries working in the slums of Nairobi. FAME has provided some funding for medical work in Kenya.

In this particular slum area, which is the focus of “Hope Partnership,” an individual or church could select a child to sponsor. We”re hoping to find sponsors for 500 children at $35 per month. That will provide clothing, education, health care, and sanitation needs. There is sewage literally running in the streets of these communities. (A commitment of) $1,500 would make a substantial contribution to solving this public health problem.

What will be some highlights of the conference itself?

Much of the conference will be focused globally. The idea is to equip the church to better understand and respond to the problem, not just overseas but here locally as well.

There will be several workshops, such as one that addresses the biblical basis for mercy ministries””why Christians can”t ignore crises like this. Another will deal with cultural misunderstandings about AIDS. Three churches in Indianapolis that have been active in AIDS ministry will participate in a panel discussion to share their experiences. Several other workshops will address practical topics.

How will it address local issues?

There”s a young lady in Indianapolis who is a Christian physician in a local health clinic for the underserved. She”s going to address the fact that AIDS is not just a disease in foreign countries, but an issue in our home communities. We, the church, have a responsibility to reach out to these people with compassion””not in a judgmental way.

What would you like to see happen as a result of the conference?

We”d like to see representation from many churches around the Midwest so we feel we really are getting the word out and creating awareness among churches, as well as assisting churches in planning a response. We”d like to see an excellent response to the “Hope Partnership.” This project in one of the many slums in Nairobi is one small area in the world where we can make a difference. We would like to see a good response in terms of dollars being committed, but also ongoing relationships where people can continue to invest dollars and workers in confronting this crisis in one part of the world. And we would like to see people go away from this conference with a much greater burden to contribute something substantial and long-lasting to the physical and spiritual needs of those living with HIV/AIDS.

Will there be short-term mission trips to follow the conference?

Some churches represented at the conference have already sent short-term teams to Nairobi. These people will speak at some of the workshops and that may spark new interest in other churches. There will be opportunities for financial investment and workers to be involved way beyond the conference. The “Hope Partnership” will send people away with a tangible way to invest time and workers. This could certainly translate into some additional short-term teams. We are praying for ongoing support relationships as FAME and CMF continue to work together on this initiative.

Would you consider that your focus at FAME is more on physical needs or spiritual needs?

It”s a combination of both. Evangelism always needs to be top priority. Certainly that”s what FAME exists to do. When we provide funding for a hospital or clinic overseas we make certain there is a component of evangelism taking place. With the short-term teams we send out there is always evangelism taking place in the context of the team”s work. If you”re not attending to the person”s spiritual needs along with his or her physical needs, you”re not gaining anything of eternal value. We make certain the people establishing these medical facilities overseas and supported by FAME are Christians and are actively engaged in evangelism when caring for their patients.

The founders of FAME in 1970 were medical missionaries with a vision of a global network of Christian health-care facilities providing holistic care for individuals in the unreached and underserved areas of the world. FAME remains true to this vision.