Two prominent leaders of the separation of church and state debate recently argued whether it is “alarming” that a self-described para-church ministry has received millions in government funds for its drug treatment program.

Teen Challenge, an evangelical Christian recovery program connected to the Assemblies of God denomination, is at the center of the debate between the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law & Justice.

Lynn referenced in his Beliefnet blogalogue last week a recent article in The Minnesota Independent about the more than $10 million in government funds that the Minnesota Teen Challenge has received over the past seven years. The Minnesota government has also raised federal funding for the Christian organization several times during that time period. more >>

"Children with gaping head wounds lay screaming and confused, some had lost motor skills from the blows they had received to their heads. ... We were shocked that so few had received any kind of treatment."

The account by David Darg of Operation Blessing International was recorded Monday, nearly a week after the 7.0-magnitude quake struck Haiti and wreaked havoc on the Caribbean nation.

Relief and humanitarian teams on the ground have been hard at work trying to save lives while at the same time relaying their first-hand accounts to the rest of the world on blogs. more >>

Hundreds of Salvation Army volunteers in the United States have spent the last few days preparing and packing one million ready-to-eat meals to send to survivors of the Haiti earthquake.

They are in addition to the 250,000 meals are already awaiting shipment from Des Moines, Iowa.

The meals, courtesy of food group Numana Inc, consist of rice, soy protein, freeze-dried vegetables and vitamins that can be cooked in boiling water. more >>

As aid workers frantically rescue survivors of Haiti’s massive quake, several hundred miles north in the United States many churches and ministries are anxiously awaiting word about missing workers and missionaries.

In Florida, the state Baptist convention is praying for word that 18 of their workers in Haiti are safe, according to Baptist Press, the news wire service of the Southern Baptist Convention.

The Florida Baptist Convention says it has not heard from 18 of its 21 Haitian staff after the 7.0-magnitude quake hit Haiti Tuesday and decimated the capital Port-au-Prince. The other three Haitian employees were found unharmed. more >>

The high rate of sexual abuse of juveniles in U.S. prisons is unacceptable, declared the ministry Prison Fellowship in response to a government report released this week.

According to the report “Sexual Victimization of Youth Facilities Reported by Juvenile Offenders, 2008-09” released by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than one in ten youths in prison reported a sexual assault in the past year, with the majority of incidents involving sexual abuse by staff.

Even more disturbing is that in 13 facilities, as many as one in four juvenile offenders reported a sexual assault in the past 12 months. more >>

A research firm released on Tuesday its list of certified best Christian workplaces in the United States and Canada.

The annual survey, conducted by the Best Christian Workplaces Institute, the Christian arm of the organizational and human resources consulting firm Best Workplaces Institute, Inc., identified 30 “great” workplaces with a Christian mission or value in North America.

Organizations listed in the 2010 Certified Best Christian Workplaces in the United States include: Crossroads Church in Cincinnati, Ohio; Dallas Christian College in Dallas, Texas; Joni and Friends in Agoura Hills, Calif.; Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Ill.; Tacoma Rescue Mission in Tacoma, Wash.; and World Harvest Mission in Jenkintown, Pa. more >>