As residents in Moore, Okla., recover from the damaging effects of an EF5 tornado which ripped through the center of the state on Monday, a faith-based outreach organization is teaming up with celebrity singer Joe Jonas to provide relief to the local community.

Convoy of Hope, a faith-based nonprofit which works internationally to provide disaster relief and community outreach, is partnering with Joe Jonas of The Jonas Brothers on-site in Moore today and tomorrow to provide necessary supplies, including food, water, and emergency equipment to residents hoping to gain some stability after seeing their homes ravaged by Monday's tragic natural disaster.

After supplying the community with necessities such as food and water, Jonas and the nonprofit volunteers will transfer into supplying cleanup supplies, such as trash bags, so residents may begin to clean-up the damage caused by Monday's tornado, which tore through 13,000 homes, multiple schools, and a hospital, killing 24 people in its destructive path. more >>

An interdenominational missions organization is looking for nominations of unsung heroes, those who are tackling the issues of poverty, sex trafficking, HIV/AIDS, the need for clean water, homelessness and other needs in today's society, for its second bi-annual Epoch Awards to be held later this year.

"We want to uncover every rock of people doing incredible work around the world, but with little to no recognition," said Jeff Shinabarger, founder of Plywood People and event organizer. "Everybody knows somebody giving their lives for others that could really use funding to continue their effort. We want to honor those people that no one knows about and give them a platform to keep doing good."

Epoch (pronounced "Epic") Awards was birthed out of the heart of Tim Abare, COO of Adventures in Missions, located north of Atlanta in Gainesville, in January of 2011. Organizers say anyone can nominate an unsung hero who is actively serving others and whose bravery is rather unknown by going online to http://epochawards.com/nominations/nominate/. The nominations close next Thursday (May 30). more >>

As scandals rise around the Obama Administration, from Benghazi to the IRS, Republicans and some Democrats are also jumping on a new development: United States Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius requesting private funding to implement the healthcare law.

When Congress denied her request for nearly $1 billion to promote the healthcare exchanges, a central part of the Affordable Care Act also known as Obamacare, Sebelius allegedly turned to healthcare executives to finance Enroll America, a nonprofit group devoted to expanding access.

In an official statement to The Christian Post, HHS acknowledged, "since March, the Secretary has made two fundraising calls on behalf of Enroll America to two organizations – the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and H&R Block – neither of which is regulated by us and both of whom share a commitment to helping uninsured Americans." more >>

A well-known conservative values organization is advising Christians against joining the AARP, a nonprofit dedicated to the needs of retired people, arguing that the interest group caters to the "homosexual agenda."

Buddy Smith, executive vice president of the American Family Association, self-described Christian, pro-family nonprofit, said in a recent interview that he believes part of AARP's membership fees and profits are used to promote the legalization of same-sex marriage on a federal level, as well as same-sex couple adoption.

Smith warned retired Christians ages 50 and over who are planning to become a member of the AARP. more >>

A United Methodist not-for-profit publication that traces its roots back to the 19th century announced that they will be closing down by the end of the month.

UMR Communications and its main publication the United Methodist Reporter will stop operation, its final 26 employees out of work by Friday, May 31.

Sam Hodges, managing editor for the Reporter, told The Christian Post that the leading reason for the closure was a lack of financial resources. more >>

National Religious Broadcasters President & CEO Dr. Frank Wright asked members of Congress investigating the IRS over its alleged inappropriate scrutiny of conservative and faith-based groups to focus on First Amendment protection for such organizations.

"As Congress investigates these incidents at the IRS, and others that may surface in the days ahead, I ask that you emphasize the First Amendment rights of non-profit religious organizations and churches, which gives them constitutional authority to operate free from government entanglement," wrote Wright in a letter sent to House Speaker John Boehner and other Congressional leaders, including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.

"Pernicious targeting of faith-based organizations by any state actor must not be tolerated," Wright added. "These IRS cases before the nation today appear to be just such entangling, oppressive, and constitutionally unsound situations that must be protected against." more >>