Portland, Ore. ? In the world of Christian video games, players sport the armor of God, the best weapon is a ball of holy energy known as a “smite,” and demon-possessed Roman soldiers drop to their knees in prayer when they’re hit.

Right now, the religious-themed games represent just the tiniest fraction of an $11-billion industry, but developers expect the market to grow with the popularity of faith-based movies and books such as Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” and the “Left Behind” series of novels.

Just how to make the jump to the mainstream, finding producers for Christian games and getting them on store shelves, will be the focus of a small conference this month in Portland that about 100 people are expected to attend.

Event organizer Tim Emmerich said Christian game developers — mostly evangelical Protestants — want to provide a clean, safe alternative to shoot-’em-up games like “Grand Theft Auto,” spreading the gospel without boring or alienating players.

The target audience ranges from Christian gamers eager for new thrills to teenagers and 20-somethings who have never picked up a Bible, said Emmerich, a software engineer who attends Circle Church of Christ in Corvallis.

To Canadian developer Mackenzie Ponech, the idea is creating a fun, entertaining game that doesn’t condescend to its non-Christian players.

“It’s not about taking a Bible, rolling it up and shoving it down the person’s throat who’s playing the game,” said Ponech, who co-founded Two Guys Software in Edmonton, Alberta.

In the company’s most popular game, “Eternal War: Shadows of Light,” players assume the role of Mike, an angel charged with saving a suicidal teen. They battle demons — and the teen’s own doubts — with spiritual weapons that include “soul disks,” “Trinity blasts,” and the “smite,” a ball of liquid holy energy that vaporizes bad guys.

“Eternal War” also references the “armor of God” mentioned in St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. “It’s almost like your meat-and-potatoes for a Christian game,” Ponech said.

Unlike some of their secular counterparts, Christian video games avoid “all that blood and guts and gore,” said Ralph Bagley, CEO of N’Lightning Games in Medford.

Enemies vanish, vaporize, or, in the case of the Roman soldiers in N’Lightning’s “Catechumen,” start praying as Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” rings out. Most games incorporate Bible verses, and story lines often focus on spiritual struggles.

Religion expert Larry Eskridge says the emerging Christian video game industry marks the latest effort by religious believers to put their own imprint on popular culture.