By Charlie Butts – OneNewsNow

A middle school in Grant, Michigan, may be sending the wrong signal to parents about religion.

The weekend of April 18th – 19th, 2009 has been designated as the 19th Annual “Just Pray NO!” to drugs Worldwide Weekend of Prayer and Fasting. Since April 7th, 1991 “Just Pray NO!” Ltd. has sought to unite Christians from around the world in intercessory prayer on behalf of the addicted and their families. Not only is substance abuse America’s number one health problem, the devastation of alcoholism and other drug addiction has impacted families and communities worldwide. Substance abuse has been directly linked to violence and sexual immorality and is a major source of income for organized crime and terrorist activities. The “War on Drugs” directly impacts the “War on Crime” and the “War on Terrorism!”

The annual FOCUS Conference, the Church of God Children’s Ministry Conference, will be held on March 5-7, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Greenville, South Carolina.

Angel Heaven(TM) World, a new St. Louis-based online company, has unveiled their new interactive Web site and full line of original, wholesome dolls with collectable wings, stuffed animals, music and other Angel themed merchandise. AngelHeaven(TM)World.com is a secure, values-based Web site that allows children access to games and activities and gives parents and loved ones a “talking” shopping experience they won’t find anywhere else.

Beginning January 1, the Christian Defense Coalition is leading prayer for President-Elect Obama outside of the White House every day at 12:00 noon until the Inauguration.

Music videos by Flyleaf, Rascal Flatts, Marvin Sapp and Switchfoot were among the winners of the Gospel Music Channel Music Awards (GMCVAs) unveiled in a special one- hour recently.

The Shelby Kennedy Foundation is excited to introduce the first-of-its-kind annual National Bible Bee, a motivating Bible memory competition for children and youth from 7 to 18. The goal of the Bible Bee is to build godly character in young people by calling them back to the lost discipline of Scripture memorization. Most people are familiar with the Scripps National Spelling Bee, where youth compete annually in the Nation’s longest- running educational contest. While it is certainly beneficial for our children to commit the spelling of words to memory, imagine how much more life- changing it will be for them to memorize the Word of God.

Tulsa, Okla. — In 100 years, the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement has grown from a handful of individuals and organizations to a global force of more than 600 million people. A series of meetings has begun to discuss the future of this movement and how to introduce Spirit-empowered living to a new generation. These conversations will culminate in the Congress on Holy Spirit Empowerment in the 21st Century on April 8-10, 2010 at Oral Roberts University (ORU) in Tulsa, Okla.

Shaped to Serve is the theme for the annual Christian Education Workers Appreciation Sunday, suggested by the International Department of Youth and Christian Education for January 25, 2009.