Aside from Gomes' absence, the forum may indicate a trend of growing unification among campus Christian groups. Eighteen different Christian organizations--both undergraduate and graduate--are working together to organize the event.

Some leaders of Christian groups on campus say that Christian students have tended in the past to separate themselves based on styles of worship and ethnic background.

Otis Gaddis '01, one of the founders of Soul Food, a ministry to black students on campus, and a founder of last year's week-long Christian outreach program Jesus Week, says the divisions arose less from differences in faith than from a lack of communication.

"My freshman year, people didn't know each other across [group] lines. It was hard to find out how to contact someone," Gaddis says. "All these organizations have a common goal, but that only becomes apparent when you communicate."

But last year's Jesus Week included many of Harvard's Christian groups, and the Veritas Forum may be a sign of future cooperation among campus Christian organizations.

"We're happy to work together," Huang says. "It's not as if we have exactly the same ideas. The cool thing about Christian unity is that we bring people from different backgrounds together."

The Harvard Veritas Forum will be held from April 5 to April 8. More information on the conference can be found at www.jesusweek2001.com.

--Staff writer Anne K. Kofol can be reached at kofol@fas.harvard.edu.