Joel Osteen Encourages Underserved Children, Homeless Single Mothers (PHOTOS)

(Photo: The Christian Post)

WASHINGTON – Joel Osteen, author of New York Times bestseller Become a Better You and pastor of the 40,000-member Lakewood Church in Houston, mixed and mingled with the powerful this week when he led the prayer in both the U.S. House and Senate.

But perhaps what is less reported and seen are photos of him in the nation's capital on Thursday greeting and encouraging children at an underserved school where the property had not been renovated for decades, visiting a small Christian pregnancy center, or doing the honors of cutting the ribbon for a shelter housing homeless single mothers with disabled children.

The following are some photos of the Osteen family and their activities in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.