Poverty

Nearly one in four children in the United States lived in a home that suffered from food insecurity in 2008, according to new data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In total, 16.7 million children, or 22.5 percent, were from families that had difficulty putting enough food on the table last year. That’s 4.3 million more children than in 2007.

“Child hunger is not just a casualty of the recession,” commented the Rev. David Beckmann, president of the Christian anti-poverty group Bread for the World, in response to the data. “It was a problem before the recession, and unless we take the necessary steps, kids will continue to suffer after the economy recovers.” more >>

A 33-year-old preacher's kid from Atlanta recently raised $30,000 in 18 hours to build a kindergarten in Vietnam.

It was his first shot at fundraising but even more surprising is the fact that the money was raised through his blog.

Jonathan Acuff, 33, is the writer of the satirical Stuff Christians Like blog, which was started as a reaction to the popular blog Stuff White People Like. The Christian blog is less than two years old but the site has drawn hundreds of thousands of online readers and Acuff already has a book deal with Christian publishing giant Zondervan. more >>

Most Americans still support government funding for faith-based initiatives, according to a new report.

More than eight years after former President George W. Bush launched a program allowing churches and other religious organizations to receive federal funding to perform social services, 69 percent of Americans say they favor the initiative, the Pew Forum reported.

Only 25 percent oppose it. more >>

Newly released The Poverty and Justice Bible highlights more than 2,000 verses that refer to poverty and social justice in Scripture.

Published by the American Bible Society, the Poverty Bible is not a new translation – it uses the Contemporary English Version – but rather serves to help users more easily find verses on issues of poverty and justice. Verses on the issues are highlighted in bright orange.

"Nearly every page of the Bible includes a message about poverty or justice," said R. Lamar Vest, president of American Bible Society, in a statement Monday. "The Poverty and Justice Bible acts as God's megaphone revealing that, from Genesis to Revelation, concerns for justice are never far from the heart of God and the minds of biblical writers." more >>

The board of directors of the charity made popular through its TV ad campaigns featuring hungry children fired its founder Friday.

In a statement, the board said the termination of Larry Jones as president was effective immediately. Board spokesman Tony Sellars, however, declined to give further comments on the action, citing pending litigation.

The 30-year-old Christian non-profit has of late been facing a power struggle between Jones and the charity’s board of directors. more >>