The International House of Prayer of Kansas City (IHOPKC) Executive Leadership Team (ELT) continued to keep the public informed regarding the investigation into sexual and spiritual abuse allegations against the ministry’s founder, Mike Bickle, with an update letter and a Report on Initial Findings.
In the letter, IHOPKC restated its commitment “to investigating any allegations of sexual abuse in our organization and faith community in a way that honors privacy, safety, and due process.”
The ELT shared that it is releasing its report “in an effort to bring clarity in a time of pain and confusion” and is committed “to pursuing the truth of any credible allegations of abuse and obtaining restoration, healing, and justice for the victims of abuse.”
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Leadership also explained why IHOPKC is using attorneys to conduct the preliminary examination into the allegations.
The decision has “nothing to do with preparing a legal defense or intimidating potential victims and everything to do with handling these allegations with the utmost seriousness in which they deserved to be treated,” the ELT said.
Since one of the allegations against Bickle “would be considered criminal in nature,” the ELT believes that the local law firm it has chosen is best suited to “thoroughly and legally examining all the facts.”
The ELT also explained why IHOPKC is unable to have GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment), which was founded by former prosecutor Boz Tchividjian in 2004, conduct a third-party review of their initial findings.
Speaking of Tchividjian, who is the current owner at BozLaw PA and a board member for GRACE, the ELT shared that it recently learned that Tchividjian is the private attorney for one of Bickle’s alleged victims. “This represents a clear conflict of interest for G.R.A.C.E. and disqualifies the organization as a candidate to be an objective third party,” they said.
This process has made IHOPKC’s leadership identify areas where IHOPKC can improve, one of which is “a clear and simple process and protocol for people who want to report any form of sexual abuse.”
The ELT’s Report on Initial Findings informed readers that IHOPKC has identified five of the eight alleged victims whose testimony was brought to them on Oct. 24 by a group of men led by a local Kansas City pastor.
