FAQ for Pastors Using the AUDIT Screening

Alcohol problems are among the most common and least-discussed struggles in the church. By making this resource available, you're removing a barrier that keeps people from seeking help. The AUDIT is a safe, scientifically validated tool that anyone can use — it gives your members something concrete to hold and a private way to assess their own risk.

Like other health screenings, this one is designed to identify people at increased risk and connect them to appropriate professional care. You don't have to be an expert. You just have to be willing to open the door.

This screening is designed to give helpful feedback to someone who doesn't think they have a problem with alcohol or who suspects their drinking may be a problem, but isn't sure. This tool will give them information about a) how risky their drinking is, b) how their drinking stacks up against national norms, and c) how much their relationship with God is being affected by their drinking.

Suggest that a member take this screening during your pastoral counseling to provide a structured, private way to gather information. You can also leave the QR code on a resource table for someone to take on their own.

Diagnosing and counseling addictions are outside the scope of most pastors. But this tool isn't meant to do those things. Think of it like a blood pressure cuff in a church health fair — it gives information and prompts action without requiring clinical expertise from you.

Your role is to be a caring, informed, and connecting presence. You don't need to know what treatment program to recommend. You just need to be willing to say: "I think this is worth looking into further, and I'll walk alongside you as you do."

Here are a few natural ways to offer it:

• "We talked a little bit about your drinking today. Would you like to learn more about the health consequences? I have a confidential screening you can take — it will give you a sense of your level of risk."
• "I'm not an addiction counselor, but I am concerned about some of what we discussed. I have a confidential screening you can take. It's not a diagnosis — but if you take it and share the results with me, it will just give us some shared information about where things stand and what the next steps might be. Are you willing to take it?"

Keep it low-pressure. You're offering information, not an accusation.

The AUDIT uses gender-specific score ranges to place people into one of four zones. Here is what each zone indicates and what action is appropriate:

The online tool calculates the score automatically and applies the correct gender-based zone.

Note: The score table above is best viewed on a larger screen. On a phone, you may want to rotate to landscape orientation or reference it on a desktop.

Urge the person to seek a professional assessment. There are a number of resources for next steps given in the scoring report.

Unless you happen to know a trusted professional resource, it is not your responsibility to find or recommend a specific treatment program, just as it is not your responsibility to recommend a specific oncologist for a member with cancer. You can still offer profound support through spiritual care, prayer, and presence.

For Zone III and IV scores: encourage the person not to stop drinking abruptly without medical guidance. Withdrawal from alcohol can be medically dangerous and should be supervised by a doctor.

The assessment tool includes a resources section for people concerned about someone else. The NIAAA's Rethinking Drinking site also has excellent guidance for families.

For loved ones: encourage them to get support for themselves, not just the person drinking. Al-Anon is a strong peer support option. The SAMHSA helpline (1-800-662-4357) can also connect family members to resources. This situation often opens pastoral conversations that might not otherwise occur — and that's a gift.

Don't try to convince them the results are accurate. Let them be frustrated with the screening, not with you. Defensiveness is extremely common — it is part of how alcohol use disorders protect themselves.

Your job in that moment is simply to stay warm, stay curious, and stay on their side. When they are ready to take a next step, they will remember that you listened, that you didn't shame them, and that you were someone they could trust. That is worth more than winning an argument.

Want to see this approach in action? Read a real conversation demonstrating how to listen well and use double-sided reflections — especially powerful when someone is on the fence about change: The Very Best Arguments for Sobriety →

You are already confronting the problem by suggesting the screening. Just the fact that a pastor is having a conversation about a member's drinking is a huge signal to the person that they might have a problem. However, harsh, blunt confrontation generally does not work. Research consistently shows that confrontation makes people more defensive and less willing to change. The approach used in this tool — offering information, inviting reflection, and expressing care — is far more effective.

However, you are in a unique position as a pastor. And most members expect that you — as God's servant — will express your concerns for the person and their spiritual condition. There are also times when you must set firm limits. For example, when someone shows no contrition or repentance for a pattern of drunkenness. Or when their drinking results in abuse of others, drunk driving, or situations that put people's safety in jeopardy. In those cases, clear and loving limits are appropriate and necessary.