South Carolina

Pam Tebow, mother of New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow, was the keynote speaker at the Carolina Pregnancy Center fundraiser Tuesday night and shared with those in attendance what she describes as the miraculous story of her son's birth.

Tebow told over 1,750 people at the CPC fundraiser held at the Spartanburg Expo Center in Spartanburg, S.C., that doctors had advised her to abort her now 24-year-old son.

"Twenty-four years ago, a doctor told me that if I didn't have an abortion, I could die," Tebow said. "But me and my husband trusted in God and went against the doctor. God spared the life of me and my son." more >>

Depression medicine sales have increased 400 percent in North America in the past 20 years yet churches are not talking about it, lamented one pastor.

NewSpring Church Pastor Perry Noble said that he never heard a sermon message on the subject of depression because "it's messy" and people "don't want to deal with that."

In a lot of church cultures, it's simply about making an appearance and looking good, said Noblesaid in his sermon this past Sunday. This type of culture fosters an inability for people to talk about real issues in the church, he noted during the second week of a sermon series called "Overwhelmed." more >>

Motorists in South Carolina have been given the option of purchasing religious license plates that feature three crosses on a mountaintop against a sunrise backdrop.

The "I Believe" tags are created and sponsored by non-profit group www. IBELIEVEsc.net, a coalition of Christian believers. The group says the tags demonstrate a non-political way for Christians to show their faith.

Back in 2008, the state General Assembly created an "I Believe" tag that was sponsored by the government. In 2009, however, a U.S. federal judge ruled the tag unconstitutional, and the state did not appeal the decision. That left the possibility for a private organization to apply for an "I Believe" tag. In the end, the Christian coalition applied for the license plate. more >>

NewSpring Church, a five campus megachurch in Anderson, S.C., is canceling its Sunday night services due to the Super Bowl this weekend.

Lead Pastor Perry Noble explained the reason in his blog. "I've been in church work for over 20 years and the one thing I can say is that attendance on Super Bowl Sunday night in church has always been awful! (and…the people who are there are pretending to be looking at youversion on their phone…but they are really checking the score of the game!)," he wrote.

Noble said the church has always tried to compete with the Super Bowl with poor results, so NewSpring made the decision to change its worship times from Sunday night to Saturday night. The megachurch's two Sunday morning worship services are still being held. more >>

Influential leaders from the Family Research Council and Focus on the Family publicly endorsed Rick Santorum for the GOP presidential nomination ahead of the South Carolina primary.

FRC President Tony Perkins and James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, announced their support Thursday. Both leaders said they were compelled to do so by Santorum's strong focus on social conservative issues.

"The institution of the family is the key issue facing this great nation. It is the foundation, the bedrock, upon which every dimension of Western Civilization rests," Dobson said in a statement. more >>

Rick Perry said he is putting conservatives ahead of himself in his Thursday decision to drop out of the GOP race and endorse fellow candidate Newt Gingrich as the party’s anti-Romney.

Perry highlighted his experience as a fighter pilot and told the crowd he knows what it means to stay focused on the mission.

“I know when it is time to make a strategic retreat. I will leave the trail, return to Texas and lay down my 2012 campaign,” he announced at an 11 a.m. press conference in Charleston, South Carolina. He had a few aides and a visibly-dejected Anita Perry at his side during the announcement. more >>