Efforts to form a new church in the wake of a sex abuse scandal at International House of Prayer Kansas City (IHOPKC) have ended. In April, three staffers associated with the ministry filed paperwork with the state of Missouri to create Sanctuary Church. But “those plans will not be moving forward,” according to an email distributed this week. No reason was provided.
In addition, two of those three staffers—Isaac and Morgan Bennett, former pastors of IHOPKC’s now-shuttered Forerunner Church—are apparently leaving ministry connected with IHOPKC. Again, the email offered no details.
IHOPKC’s Prayer Room remains open and, for now, “will remain independent of any external church,” the email added. It also revealed, for the first time, the names of IHOPKC board members.
As ChurchLeaders has reported, IHOPKC is reeling from an abuse scandal involving founder Mike Bickle, who stepped away from the ministry last October.
IHOPKC: Need for Intercession Is Great
At an April staff meeting, IHOPKC Pastor Isaac Bennett said allegations against Bickle were taking a financial toll on the organization. According to a leaked recording of that meeting, Bennett suggested that restructuring could limit the ministry’s liability. Then in early July, news broke that the Bennetts, along with former IHOPKC University president Matt Candler, had been moving forward with Sanctuary Church.
This week’s email, sent to IHOPKC staff on July 23 and to the “IHOPKC community” on July 24, stated:
As many of you are aware, it had recently been reported that Isaac Bennett planned to form a new church called Sanctuary in collaboration with IHOPKC. We have been informed that those plans will not be moving forward. Despite the short-term disappointment, we are excited to see how the Lord will lead Isaac and Morgan, and bless any future ministry the Lord has for them.
The email also emphasized that IHOPKC’s Prayer Room remains open:
IHOPKC is not shutting down. We are committed to sustaining a vibrant spiritual community of believers wholeheartedly in love with Jesus, and are persevering in a more focused scope because the need for 24/7 prayer in Kansas City, America, and the nations has never been greater. Intercession for Israel, revival in the church, and the Great Commission must continue with urgency.
Email: ‘We Believe God Is Not Done With IHOPKC’
Although the IHOPKC Prayer Room will remain “independent” for now, the email stated, “We realize that the long term health and wellbeing of the prayer room requires a formal governance structure for oversight, accountability and spiritual strength. We are exploring the best fit moving forward.”
Critics of IHOPKC and its handling of the abuse investigation have urged the organization to make public the names of its board members. It did so for the first time in this week’s email. The board chairman is Kurt Fuller, a retired U.S. Army major general who had briefly served as IHOPKC’s executive director. Other members include Malachi O’Brien, Ed Hackett, Wellington Boone, Cindy Dodd, and Steve Brandt.
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