Hundreds of pro-Israel Christians will converge in Philadelphia Friday night for the start of what event planners are expecting to be the largest pro-Israel conference of the year.

While the Kimmel Center for Performing Arts has only enough seating for 2,000 people, organizers of the 2010 Epicenter Conference say more than 200 churches across North America have signed up to join in the conference’s live webcast. Furthermore, over 1,000 Christian radio stations and five Christian TV networks are scheduled to broadcast the June 25-26 event in over 200 countries.

"The eyes of the world are riveted on the Middle East, the epicenter of the dramatic events that are shaking our world and shaping our future," says the host of the conference, New York Times best-selling author Joel C. Rosenberg.

"Now is the time to mobilize Christians to show unconditional love and unwavering support for Israel and her neighbors in real and practical ways," he adds.

For the event, Rosenberg has assembled prominent Christian leaders including Kay Arthur, Greg Laurie, Janet Parshall, and Tony Perkins.

Also speaking will be Lt. (Ret.) William G. “Jerry” Boykin, who has played a role in almost every recent major American military operation; Hormoz Shariat, an Iranian Muslim convert who now serves as the founder and president of Iran Alive Ministries; and Mosab Hassan Yousef, son of a founding leader of internationally-recognized terrorist group Hamas.

For security reasons, Yousef will not be physically present at the conference, but will address the audience by video.

The aim of the two-day conference, according to organizers, is to help Christians in the United States and worldwide understand today’s global crises “in the light of Bible prophecy and give [them] practical ways to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus.”

“We are living at a very critical moment,” says Rosen. “Israel is facing extinction by Iran’s leaders who believe that the end of the world is at hand, that the 12th imam – the Islamic messiah is coming. And they’re threatening – if they get nuclear weapons – to destroy Israel, to wipe her off the map.”

Through the conference – with help from churches, radio stations, and TV networks across the nation – Rosen is looking to build a global movement of Christians who are willing “to bless Israel and her neighbors, come what may.”

Radio networks carrying the live or delayed version of the Friday night portion of the conference include The Moody Broadcasting Network, the Calvary Satellite Network, Reach Network, M-88, The Faith Network, Edgewater Broadcasting and Living Proof Network.

A live television broadcast of the event, meanwhile, will be viewable Friday on the Total Living Network starting from 7 p.m. ET – when the conference is set to kick off.

Other networks airing the program at a later time include The Cornerstone Network, NRB-TV, God TV and Crossroads Television Systems in Canada.

On the Web:

www.epicenterconference.com