NFL quarterback Tim Tebow's recent convocation speech at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., which attracted nearly 10,000 students, centered around the importance of fulfilling one's personal goals while striving to be a servant to God.

"There are a lot of people who are going to tell you that you can't, that you shouldn't, that you couldn't," Tebow told the students at Friday's convocation, according to the university's official website. 

"Most of the time those are the people that didn't, that couldn't, that wouldn't ... But you can, because we serve a big God and your goals should be as big as the God we serve," Tebow added. more >>

After only 10 days of fulfilling a vow to fast up to 40 days to raise $12,200 to finish a film God inspired him to make, a former pastor-turned-filmmaker, Eric "Doc" Benson, managed to raise more than enough money to finish his project, and he is thanking God for showing up.

Last Wednesday, just three days into his fast, The Christian Post reported on Benson's efforts to raise $12,200 through a crowd-funding campaign on indiegogo.com to finish a movie about a small church's struggle to deal with change in its congregation, titled "Seven Deadly Words". Benson had run out of funds to cover post-production costs and other expenses to finish the film and decided to seek God's help through his fast.

"I poured every hour, every dollar I could spare into making this movie happen," Benson had explained last week. "My wife, Annette, my boys, and I have emptied out our savings and invested our time and talents, because we feel God wants this film to be a blessing to people. Now, the only thing I have left to give is...myself," he said. more >>

Zion, the latest and third album from contemporary Christian and alternative rock band Hillsong United, is also now the group's most commercially successful album after striking gold with a mainstream audience and debuting at the number five spot on Billboard's 200 chart on Friday. It is also number one on Billboard's Christian Album chart.

The only albums currently ranking higher than Zion on the mainstream music chart are Bruno Mars' Unorthodox Jukebox, Amok by Atoms for Peace, Babel by Mumford and Sons and The Heist by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.

In a message on Friday to fans on Twitter, the group wrote: "Thank you all for your support getting Zion into the top 5 on the USA top 200 Billboard charts//We appreciate you all." more >>

Dr. Hannah Gay, the University of Mississippi Medical Center pediatrician whose treatment "functionally cured" a baby girl born with an HIV infection, is a Christian who previously spent years living as a missionary with her husband in Ethiopia.

In the 1980s, Gay worked with her husband as a missionary in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and these days she's cultivating the faith of third and fourth graders through the teaching of Bible passages at her church on Wednesday nights, according to the Washington Post.

The very private Gay, who has four children and a grandson, is a devout Christian who puts her faith first and juggles her family and career in between. "She does not like being in the spotlight," her 24-year-old daughter Ruth Gay Thomas told the Washington Post. more >>

LOS ANGELES – More than 400 guests attended an Academy Awards show viewing party co-hosted by a collaboration of more than a half-dozen different Christian-based ministries at Bel Air Presbyterian Church on Sunday evening. All the ministries are focused on helping believers make an impact through their work in the entertainment industry – especially in the tough arena of Hollywood.

"God tells us that when two or more are gathered in His name then He is there," Karen Covell, founder of the Hollywood Prayer Network, told The Christian Post. HPN was one of the ministries helping with the event that featured a live broadcast of the Oscars shown on several big screens inside the church, food, prizes, and short discussions about faith in the industry during the commercials.

"Our goal as Christian professionals in Hollywood is to use our gifts and talents in the secular entertainment industry, along with ministering to the creative community, both by loving and sharing our faith with our co-workers who don't yet know Jesus and to build up, encourage and pray for our Christian friends and associates," Covell explained. "That won't happen unless we gather together, break bread together, build unity and have fun together." more >>

Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) professor Howard Hendricks, who was considered a mentor and friend of many of today's prominent Christian leaders, died early Wednesday morning after a battle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 88.

"No man has meant more to me in my adult life than Dr. Howard G. Hendricks, whom all of us know as simply, 'Prof,'" evangelical pastor Chuck Swindoll wrote in a statement published on a DTS tribute page on its website. "What a magnificent man he has been to so many of us, so much so, it was easy for us to assume he would be here forever."

Despite authoring 18 books and preaching around the world in more than 80 countries, Hendricks was perhaps best known for his influence on other Christian leaders, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) stated Wednesday. In addition to Swindoll, other leaders – such as Tony Evans, Joseph Stowell and David Jeremiah – also counted him as their mentor. more >>