The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team has been deployed to Granbury, Texas, after a series of tornadoes ripped through hundreds of homes on Wednesday night and left six people dead with more than 100 injured.

"It's always so difficult for survivors to comprehend the tragedy of a tornado, because everything happens so fast," said Jack Munday, international director of the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, in a statement. "You wake up in the morning with all of your plans before you, and by the time you go to bed at night your entire world has changed and everything you once knew has been destroyed. Please pray for those who lost everything in this series of tornadoes, and especially for the loved ones of the victims."

Rescue workers were still searching for seven missing people on Thursday, CNN reported, though it was not clear whether the death toll would rise. more >>

WASHINGTON – The U.S. government program that helps treat and prevent AIDS in foreign countries is threatened by budget cuts, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) warned Tuesday. He urged faith-based organizations to increase their efforts at rallying support for the program.

"You're going to have to up your game because pressures exist today unlike any time in politics," Graham said at a Washington, D.C., event co-hosted by a number of organizations that have worked together to fight AIDS around the world, including World Relief, World Vision, Pan African Christian AIDS Network, UNICEF, and the United Methodist Church.

Politicians find foreign aid an easy target for budget cuts, Graham explained, because most Americans believe foreign aid comprises a significant part, as much as 25 percent, of the budget. In reality, though, foreign aid is only about one percent of the budget and not the cause of the nation's budget woes. For this reason, Graham believes it is important for faith groups to let their congressional representatives know they will stand behind them, or "provide a safety net," if they do not cut foreign aid programs to fight AIDS. more >>

An apparent homeless man in Austin, Texas, has recently garnered the attention of the Internet community for conducting what appears to be a social experiment to determine "which religion cares the most about the homeless."

A photo, which has gone viral on the sharing websites Reddit and Imgur, shows what appears to be a homeless man, who has been identified by one Reddit user as James of Austin sitting cross-legged in front of a store and holding a cardboard sign which reads "which religion cares the most about the homeless."

Those who have reportedly met the man claim that he said both atheists and Christians have donated the most money. more >>

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie once again praised President Barack Obama's response to Superstorm Sandy on the six-month anniversary of the devastating storm, despite what he says are great political differences between the two.

"The president has kept every promise he's made," Gov. Christine insisted in an interview with MSNBC. "I think he's done a good job. He kept his word."

Sandy devastated the tri-state region in late October, causing dozens of deaths, destroying thousands of homes, leaving millions without power for weeks and costing an estimated $29.4 billion in damages. The storm hit just a week before the General Election on Nov. 7 when Obama squared off against GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, with many praising the president's swift response to the natural disaster. more >>

R&B singer Maxwell, controversial rapper The Game and Australian band Hillsong United are among some of the big names that have signed up for the new social platform borne from the mind of HopeMob founder and CEO Shaun King.

"It's really different than anything else that exists now," King told CP via phone last week, speaking from Catalyst West, a four-day networking event for leaders, thinkers and influencers.

"It's a little bit of a social network, maybe similar to Twitter or Instagram. But it has much deeper tools that allow people of influence from all genres, be it in the church or out of the church, be it artists, musicians, comedians, photographers – anybody who has really devoted supporters could really benefit from the platform, so we're really excited about it." more >>

Eugene Cho, lead pastor of Quest Church in Seattle and co-founder of international anti-poverty movement One Day's Wages, takes his message of generosity and justice to Willow Creek Community Church's Celebration of Hope 2013 this weekend. Pastor Cho shared with The Christian Post his message for the Illinois megachurch, his hopes for ODW and why he believes Christians are compelled by their faith to practice both righteousness and justice.

Cho and his wife, Minhee, and their children founded One Day's Wages over three years ago after the Washington pastor came back convicted from witnessing the challenges faced by impoverished communities in Burma. They felt a need to act and sought God for guidance. The response Cho and his family received, however, was not at all what they were expecting. But they obeyed, took up the challenge and sacrificed a year of their family income to launch a movement that has since inspired people and organizations all over the world to join the fight to eradicate extreme global poverty. One Day's Wages and its partners have managed to award grants that are helping to provide necessities like electricity to the maternity ward at a South Sudan hospital, HIV treatment for children in Togo and nutritional support and education for malnourished children and expectant mothers living in rural Guatemala.

Pastor Cho told CP that he hopes his message inspires two things this weekend among those who gather to hear him and others speak at Willow Creek Community Church. more >>