A prominent evangelical Chinese Christian publication is preparing to hold a gospel conference in an attempt to emphasize the cross of Jesus Christ as the center of the Gospel, encouraging Chinese Christians to follow the path in their lives.

The Gospel For China Conference 2006 is set to be held on Dec. 26-30 at Crowne Plaza in Chicago, sponsored by the Illinois-based Christian Life Press Inc. (CLPI) It is estimated that around 2,000 Chinese Christians across the United States will be attending the event. The Conference will be conducted mainly in Mandarin with simultaneous interpretation in England and in Cantonese.

The theme for Conference 2006 is "Jesus Christ and Him Crucified," the same as the previous conference in 2003. According to CLPI’s latest newsletter, the reason of repeatedly using the same theme is to fulfill one single hope- to guide the entire church to return to the cross and to the full Gospel truth centering on the cross.

The goal of the Conference is for each person in attendance to be stirred by the Holy Spirit and become the army of Christ bearing the mark of the cross; for the church to be revived by the cross of Jesus Christ and become a true church of God, according to the newsletter.

"We are willing to endlessly declare: The cross is the center of our Christian faith and is the core of the truth of the Gospel," the newsletter read. "Only when our focus turns to ‘Jesus Christ and Him Crucified,’ we will discover that it is actually the source of power for the spiritual revival of the church as well as the spiritual growth of believers. It is also the abundant treasure of life, grace and truth that will never run dry."

Even though the cross appears to be a concept in the brain for most Christians, Christians will be able to understand more about the meaning of the cross through the work of the Holy Spirit, the word of God and prayers during the Conference. They will come to know that the cross is a path that can be adapted in daily lives.

The program of the Conference includes messages, prayer, testimonies and seminars. English program and youth program will be emphasized in this year’s Conference.

The last Conference in 2003 has drawn 2500 people. More than two-thirds of the group were Mainland-born Chinese. The remainders of the group were American-born, Taiwan-born, or Hong Kong-born Chinese, with more Taiwan-born than Hong Kong-born people in attendance due to the language of the Conference being Mandarin. Eight churches of the Union of Chicago Chinese Churches (UCCC) were major participants at the Conference.