Beginning January 1, the Christian Defense Coalition is leading prayer for President-Elect Obama outside of the White House every day at 12:00 noon until the Inauguration.

Music videos by Flyleaf, Rascal Flatts, Marvin Sapp and Switchfoot were among the winners of the Gospel Music Channel Music Awards (GMCVAs) unveiled in a special one- hour recently.

The Shelby Kennedy Foundation is excited to introduce the first-of-its-kind annual National Bible Bee, a motivating Bible memory competition for children and youth from 7 to 18. The goal of the Bible Bee is to build godly character in young people by calling them back to the lost discipline of Scripture memorization. Most people are familiar with the Scripps National Spelling Bee, where youth compete annually in the Nation’s longest- running educational contest. While it is certainly beneficial for our children to commit the spelling of words to memory, imagine how much more life- changing it will be for them to memorize the Word of God.

Tulsa, Okla. — In 100 years, the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement has grown from a handful of individuals and organizations to a global force of more than 600 million people. A series of meetings has begun to discuss the future of this movement and how to introduce Spirit-empowered living to a new generation. These conversations will culminate in the Congress on Holy Spirit Empowerment in the 21st Century on April 8-10, 2010 at Oral Roberts University (ORU) in Tulsa, Okla.

Shaped to Serve is the theme for the annual Christian Education Workers Appreciation Sunday, suggested by the International Department of Youth and Christian Education for January 25, 2009.

COLUMBIA, SC, Dec. 16 /Christian Newswire/ — Frontline Ministries and the Exodus Mandate Project ( www.Exodusmandate.org) announced today that Dr. Brian D. Ray, Ph.D., is recipient of the 2008 Dr. Robert Dreyfus Courageous Christian Leadership Award. Established by Frontline Ministries in 2007, this award honors and recognizes a Christian leader who has exhibited moral courage while advancing Christianity in the culture and life of the nation through his unique contribution to the Church.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Dec. 16 /Christian Newswire/ — Flying more than 30 hours to get to Uganda and traveling another day on pothole- filled roads, a small team of IBS-STL staff and volunteers brought Bibles, reading glasses, and Bible training to rural northern Uganda. More than 160 pastors and church leaders traveled for days by foot and bicycle to attend the 14-hour-a-day conference.

Church of God departments and leaders have announced many events geared toward a variety of emphases to take place in 2009. Literally hundreds of activities are part of any given year’s slate of events for Church of God departments and ministries, as well as denomination-wide happenings. The following is only a partial list of some of the highlights. For more information on these events, please visit the Church of God Web site and click on the Directories tab to find Web sites of Church departments.

“Isn’t there something more for me to do with my life?” The world is full of people who feel stuck in jobs that they hate. Anyone who has dropped their kids off at a daycare center staffed by teachers who originally dreamed of becoming actresses, hair salon owners or doctors, or stood across from a grocery checker who clearly wanted to be anywhere but serving customers knows that the results aren’t pretty. Others have impressive careers that provide big incomes but leave them empty and unfulfilled at the end of each busy day.