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Christ at the Checkpoint Conference in Bethlehem March 2012

Contact: Porter Speakman, Jr, 719-244-4171, porter@bethbc.org

BETHLEHEM, Oct. 5, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Bethlehem Bible College will be holding its second international "Christ at the Checkpoint" conference from March 5-9, 2012 in Bethlehem, West Bank.

This conference will build on the success of the first Christ at the Checkpoint conference which was held in March 2010. The aim of Christ at the Checkpoint is to provide an opportunity for Evangelical Christians to prayerfully seek a proper awareness of issues of peace, justice, and reconciliation in the context of the realities on the ground in the Palestinian Territories. It will also provide a platform for serious engagement with Christian Zionism and an open forum for ongoing dialogue between all positions within the Evangelical theological spectrum.

Organizers are expecting hundreds of Evangelicals to participate from all around the world. The conference will be held at the Convention Palace in Bethlehem, West Bank and will include a mixture of keynote lectures, workshops, discussion forums, and on-site visits. The conference has confirmed a wide range of world-class international speakers, as well as local Palestinian leaders, who will share from their own experiences and offer a variety of diverse perspectives. Confirmed speakers include: Chris Wright, Tony Campolo, Shane Claiborne, Gary Burge, Ron Sider, John Ortberg, Stephen Sizer, Evan Thomas, Richard Harvey, Wayne Hilsden, Lynne Hybels, Salim Munayer, Bishara Awad, Bob Roberts, Ken Sande, Alex Awad, Chris Seiple, Joel Hunter, Jonathan Kuttab, Sami Awad, Daniel Bourdanne.

The conference will cover various themes and topics and how they relate to the present situation of the Palestinian Church. Palestinian Evangelical leaders will speak about the history and contemporary situation of the Palestinian Church. International leaders will reflect on this situation in keeping with the theme of Hope in the Midst of Conflict. Palestinian Christians, Christian Zionists, Messianic Christians, and international leaders will also engage each other on the topic of Christian Zionism bringing different perspectives into conversation.

The conference will also explore the notion of biblical justice in the context of the Middle East and its recent revolutions, and focus on Christian perspectives on nonviolence and peacemaking in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with a particular view towards the contributions of Palestinian Christians. There will be in addition a focus on reconciliation and how is it manifest among Christians in the Palestinian-Israeli context.

It is the hope of the organizers that participants will learn and explore how to become agents of peace and reconciliation.

Rev. Alex Awad of Bethlehem Bible College, and one of the organizing committee, says that the conference seeks to get to a better understanding of God's purposes to our land and churches.

Conference Website: www.christatthecheckpoint.com.