HONG KONG - Around 2,000 Chinese pastors and believers of all denominations from over 25 countries witnessed the opening of the first ever Global Chinese Alpha Conference in Hong Kong.

At the Hong Kong International Trade & Exhibition Centre in Kowloon, the British Alpha Chaplain Rev Nicky Gumbel, Bishop Joseph Zen of the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong, General Secretary of the Hong Kong Anglican Church the Rev Paul Kwong and many denomination representatives were present at the ceremony.

The occasion was one of the most memorable occasions in Hong Kong Christianity as all Catholic, Anglican and Protestant leaders united in one heart to support the conference.

As Chinese Christians around the world commemorate the bicentenary of the first western missionary Robert Morrison bringing the Gospel to China, the conference has become a unique opportunity for Chinese Christians worldwide to celebrate the grace of the Lord upon China and open up a new era of mission by pulling their strength together.

Rev Paul Kwong commented that believers from different denominations might have already experienced the benefits of Alpha Course for mass evangelism; he now hopes that Alpha can help lead more Chinese non-believers to Christ.

While Alpha Invitation is based on the table fellowship setting where seekers can freely share about the concerns in their lives, Bishop Joseph Zen said that the strategy is especially suitable for the Chinese community. The Catholic Church in Hong Kong has tried to run Alpha course for training the faith of believers.

Rev Gumbel said that the Alpha team loves Chinese people very much, and that he wished the team could greatly serve the Chinese church through this conference.

The conference was a global Chinese gathering, which allowed believers from mainland China to be included in spite of political sensitivities. Among the attendees were believers from both the official and underground churches.

Though the conference's organiser refused to tell reporters about the number of mainland Chinese attendees and whether Alpha Course was available in mainland China, he did mention that the conference was open to all those who are interested in knowing about this efficient evangelism strategy.

A native missionary from China told the Gospel Herald newspaper that he was very glad that he had accepted the invitation to join the Alpha Conference, and testified that the atmosphere for evangelism in mainland China had become more open than often seen in the past.

The Global Chinese Alpha Conference took place from 10 to 11 April. The two-day conference included seminars, as well as an introduction on how to start running the Alpha Course. In addition, delegates were able to look into the theology behind the Alpha Course and discover ways to promote the Alpha Course among the Chinese community.


[Editor's note: Carol U contributed from Hong Kong for this article.]