International House of Prayer

Overview

History

The International House of Prayer of Kansas City (IHOPKC) was founded by Mike Bickle on May 7, 1999. The organization began in a small building off Grandview Road in Kansas City, Missouri, as a prayer room dedicated to worshiping Jesus night and day. Since that time, IHOPKC has grown and spread into several different locations throughout south Kansas City and Grandview, Missouri. , the church reported that it had over 1,000 staff and a student body of another 1,000 individuals.

On September 14, 2010, the International House of Pancakes announced that it was suing the International House of Prayer for trademark dilution and infringement. The lawsuit was dropped on December 21, 2010, with the dispute resolved out of court, and the International House of Prayer began abbreviating itself as IHOPKC.

Prayer Format

IHOPKC is best known for its prayer meetings, based on its "harp and bowl" worship model, which have been held 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, since September 19, 1999. These meetings, streamed live on the internet and through GOD TV, alternate regularly between music and prayer in two-hour sets through all hours of the day and night. The 24/7 meetings are held at IHOPKC's Global Prayer Room in Grandview.

Teaching

IHOPKC staff regularly teach on themes that include prayer, worship, the Great Commandment, the Great Commission, eschatology, and understanding God's spiritual purposes for Israel, along with spiritual gifts, nazirite consecration, and various other Charismatic themes.

Related organizations

IHOPKC operated a local church named Forerunner Church (previously Forerunner Christian Fellowship) that met on Fridays for Encounter God Services and on Sundays for regular services.

The Children's Equipping Center (CEC) was the children's ministry of IHOPKC and hosted yearly Signs and Wonders Camps in the summer. Student Ministries focused on junior high and high school students and hosted Awakening Teen Camps in the summer.

All auxiliary organizations including Forerunner Church, CEC, and Student Ministries ceased operations by summer 2024.

IHOPKC has provided advice and financial support to the anti-trafficking organization Exodus Cry, listing it as a "related tax-exempt organization" on their 2018 tax filings.

International House of Prayer University

The International House of Prayer University (IHOPU) was an unaccredited Bible college with a campus at Grandview, Missouri. As of 2010, there were 1,000 full-time students enrolled. The educational process centered on 24/7 prayer and worship

IHOPKC offered five short term internship programs as an extension of the school: Intro to IHOPKC, One Thing, Fire in the Night, The Simeon Company, and Hope City.

In 2010, the school invested $6 million to renovate part of a strip mall in Grandview for use as a new campus.

In April 2024, IHOPKC announced it would shut down IHOPU and related internships following sexual abuse allegations against its founder Mike Bickle.

Controversies

Mike Bickle's sexual abuses

On October 28, 2023, news broke that IHOPKC head pastor Mike Bickle faced allegations of sexual abuse from several women over a span of decades. The next day, the International House of Prayer announced that Bickle had been placed on sabbatical from all public ministry, pending investigation. IHOPKC subsequently contracted with Stinson LLP to conduct the investigation. Following a viral petition for IHOPKC to choose GRACE to lead the investigation, the church broke its contract with Stinson LLP and chose a local Kansas City law firm to lead the investigation.

On December 10, 2023, IHOPKC announced that it had hired a new third-party firm that it said would be independent and impartial in its investigation of claims against Bickle. IHOPKC also announced that it had hired Eric Volz, managing director of The David House Agency, to be its official spokesperson. Volz had made international headlines as a result of his wrongful imprisonment in 2006.

On December 22, 2023, IHOPKC announced that the internal investigation confirmed that Bickle had engaged in "inappropriate behavior" of a nature that required IHOPKC to "immediately, formally, and permanently" sever ties with him.

On February 7, 2024, The Kansas City Star published a firsthand account of Mike Bickle's grooming and sexual abuse of Tammy Woods in the 1980s beginning when Woods was 14 years of age and Bickle was in his mid-20s. The article details Woods' experiences, reason for not reporting until 2024, corroborating testimony from Woods' family and a close friend, and Bickle's attempt to communicate with Woods after the initial allegations were made known in 2023.

Ernie Gruen criticism

In early 1990, nine years before he founded IHOPKC, Mike Bickle—along with the church he then pastored, Kansas City Fellowship—was highly criticized by Kansas City pastor Ernie Gruen, of Full Faith Church of Love. Gruen delivered a series of sermons and published a well-circulated 233-page document titled "Documentation of the Aberrant Practices and Teachings of Kansas City Fellowship". The sermons and document criticized Bickle's teachings on eschatology and documented alleged cases of manipulative uses of prophecy at the Kansas City Fellowship. In it, Gruen accused KCF of promoting false prophets and deception. Gruen wrote, “A prophet who admits he is right only 40 percent of the time is not only a non-prophet, he is dangerous,” and specifically charged that Bickle had been deceived by Satan and that KCF "prophets" were prophesying by "familiar spirits."

Trademark infringement with IHOP

The International House of Prayer was one of the seven defendants named in a lawsuit filed in September 2010 by IHOP, the Glendale, California-based restaurant chain, alleging trademark dilution and infringement. The restaurant dropped the lawsuit in December 2010, with the dispute settled out of court, and the International House of Prayer began styling itself as IHOPKC.

Death of Bethany Deaton

On October 30, 2012, former IHOPKC intern Bethany Leidlein Deaton was found dead in an apparent suicide. Days later, IHOPU student Micah Moore came forward to Grandview police, and was subsequently charged with Deaton's murder. In statements to police, Moore stated that he was part of a religious group with Bethany and her husband, Tyler Deaton. Moore also stated, while in custody, that Tyler Deaton had used his apparent influence over the group to initiate homosexual experiences with several male members of their social–religious circle, primarily with Moore himself. He explained that he and Deaton were involved in a sexual relationship, but justified it under “religious experiences”.

It was allegedly through the coercion of this relationship that Moore claimed that group leader (and IHOPU graduate) Deaton ordered his wife's murder, to prevent her from telling her therapist about sexual assaults from other men (Tyler excluded) within the group. While IHOPKC materials and website listed Tyler Deaton as a division coordinator for IHOPKC friendship groups until five days after Bethany's death, IHOPKC officials said that Tyler's group was not connected to IHOPKC or known about by IHOPKC leadership. Melanie Morgan, one of Moore's lawyers, said in early December 2012: "The facts suggest Bethany Deaton’s death was an unfortunate suicide and Micah Moore had nothing to do with that suicide."

On October 31, 2014, the Jackson County, Missouri, prosecutor dismissed murder charges against Moore.

''God Loves Uganda'' documentary

The 2013 documentary film God Loves Uganda suggests that North American evangelicals in general, and IHOPKC specifically, were responsible for Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

References

References

1. "Statement of Faith – About IHOPKC". International House of Prayer of Kansas City.
2. "About the International House of Prayer – About IHOPKC". International House of Prayer of Kansas City.
3. "24/7 Works of Justice – About IHOPKC". International House of Prayer of Kansas City.
4. "About – Exodus Cry". Exodus Cry.
5. Yoars, Marcus. (1 November 2010). "We Won't Stop Praying".
6. Lateef Mungin, September 16, 2010, [[CNN]]. [http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/09/16/ihop.lawsuit/index.html Pancake house takes on prayer group] {{Webarchive. link. (2012-11-10)
7. ''Glendale News–Press'', December 29, 2010 [http://articles.glendalenewspress.com/2010-12-29/news/tn-gnp-ihop-20101229_1_patrick-lenow-ihop-trademark-infringement Pancake versus prayer dropped] {{Webarchive. link. (2011-07-25)
8. "Where Worship Never Pauses". www.nytimes.com.
9. (8 August 2009). "This IHOP serves generous portions of prayer". Reading Eagle.
10. Gaines, Adrienne. "Ministry marks 20 years of nonstop prayer and worship".
11. "Forerunner Christian Fellowship". Wayback Machine.
12. "Weekend Services - Visit Us". Wayback Machine.
13. "Children's Equipping Center". Wayback Machine.
14. "Teens". Wayback Machine.
15. "Our Commitment to Prayer Amidst Change". IHOPKC.
16. Hitt, Tarpley. (2020-10-17). "The Shady Evangelical Group With Trump Ties Waging War on Pornhub". The Daily Beast.
17. "Schools". Wayback Machine.
18. "Internships". Wayback Machine.
19. Wood, Andrea, 17 August 2010 http://www.jcadvocate.com/2010/08/ihop-university-opens-at-former.html {{Webarchive. link. (2014-04-13 ''Jackson County Advocate''.)
20. Schmidt, Heidi. (2024-04-16). "International House of Prayer KC announces changes, closure".
21. Gibson, Carl. (2023-10-30). "Far-right Evangelical leader accused of 'serious allegations spanning several decades". [[MSN]].
22. (28 October 2023). "International House of Prayer-Kansas City's founder faces allegations of misconduct".
23. (29 November 2023). "Mike Bickle, leader of IHOP movement, accused of sexual abuse". Religion News Service.
24. (November 13, 2023). "Statement by the IHOPKC Leadership Team Regarding Allegations Against Mike Bickle". International House of Prayer.
25. (6 November 2023). "International House of Prayer Announces Independent Investigation, But Victims & Advocates Remain Wary".
26. (9 November 2023). "Church Members and Abuse Advocates Urge IHOPKC To 'Investigate With Integrity'". Church Leaders.
27. (10 November 2023). "International House of Prayer hires new law firm after calls for third-party investigation".
28. Thomas, Judy. (December 11, 2023). "IHOPKC says new firm will assure impartial investigation into sexual misconduct claims".
29. (December 23, 2023). "IHOPKC confirms 'inappropriate behavior,' announces permanent split with Bickle". [[The Kansas City Star]].
30. (February 8, 2024). "Woman says IHOPKC founder groomed, sexually abused her when she was 14 in the 1980s". The Kansas City Star.
31. Smith, Chuck. (14 January 1991). "Seers in the Heartland: Hot on the Trail of Kansas City Prophets".
32. (July–August 1990). "Controversy Over Kansas City Fellowship Sputtering Out".
33. "IHOP (the pancake-maker) sues IHOP (the prayer center) over trademark".
34. (30 December 2010). "IHOP drops suit against church over use of IHOP acronym". [[Los Angeles Times]].
35. [http://www.kshb.com/dpp/news/local_news/ihop-distances-itself-from-murder-victims-husband International House of Prayer distances itself from murder victim's husband, Tyler Deaton] {{Webarchive. link. (2013-06-06 . kshb.com.)
36. [https://huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/12/bethany-deaton-suicide-murder-micah-moore_n_2118831.html Bethany Deaton Suicide Now Considered A Murder; Police Arrest Micah Moore] {{Webarchive. link. (2016-03-31 . ''Huffington Post''.)
37. [http://fox4kc.com/2012/11/10/allegations-religious-sexual-community-leads-to-womans-murder/ Allegations: Religious ‘Sexual Community’ Leads to Woman’s Murder] {{Webarchive. link. (2013-05-08 . WDAF TV – FOX 4. fox4kc.com.)
38. Michelle Garcia. (20 November 2012). "Police say ex-gay leader of cult prayer group conspired to kill wife". The Advocate.
39. [http://www.kansascity.com/2012/11/17/3923048/prayer-groups-secrets-emerge.html Secrets of Tyler Deaton's prayer group emerge] {{Webarchive. link. (2012-12-05 . KansasCity.com.)
40. [https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Prayer-group-leader-whose-wife-was-murdered-has-4054731.php Prayer group leader whose wife was murdered has Texas roots] {{Webarchive. link. (2020-09-20 . ''Houston Chronicle''.)
41. [http://www.kansascity.com/2012/11/15/3919385/tyler-deatons-role-at-the-international.html Tyler Deaton’s role at the International House of Prayer becomes clearer] {{Webarchive. link. (2012-11-19 . KansasCity.com.)
42. [http://www.ihopkc.org/ihopu/regarding-the-death-of-bethany-deaton/ Regarding the Death of Bethany Deaton] {{Webarchive. link. (2013-05-19). International House of Prayer University.
43. (6 December 2012). "Disputed Murder Confession Casts a Spotlight on a Missouri Sect". The New York Times.
44. Webster, Betsy. "Prosecutors dismiss charges against man in cult murder case". KCTV5.
45. Montgomery, Peter. (2014). "In Response To Uganda Documentary, IHOP Says It's 'Not Involved' in Politics | Right Wing Watch". rightwingwatch.org.