International House of Prayer Kansas City’s (IHOPKC) Forerunner Church held its final service on Sunday (May 19) amid an ongoing sex abuse scandal centered on its founder, Mike Bickle.
IHOPKC cut ties with Bickle in December 2023 but continues to grapple with the fallout of his alleged abuse. The accusations against Bickle include allegations that he groomed and sexually abused a teenage girl while pastor at a St. Louis church in the 1980s. Several other women have also come forward to accuse Bickle of abuse.
Bickle has admitted to “engaging in inappropriate behavior” but denies all allegations of abuse. However, following an independent investigation, IHOPKC formally “separated” from Bickle following Bickle’s months long leave of absence.
RELATED: IHOPU’s President Resigns Less Than 2 Weeks After IHOPKC Permanently Cuts Ties With Mike Bickle
In a leaked email sent in April, the IHOPKC leadership team confirmed that the organization was no longer financially viable and would be “closing for good in a staggered fashion, with different things such as stipends, work emails, etc. being eliminated over the next couple of months to prepare us to close.”
“The leadership feels the best way to resolve the issues is to close IHOPKC as an organization and shift to a more missional church structure in the future,” the email said. “This would still include night and day prayer with worship in the context of a church. It would also mean far fewer compensated staff members and a much bigger pool of volunteers.”
On Sunday, Forerunner Church Pastor Isaac Bennett said, “This morning, our heart is really just to express gratitude to the Lord and gratitude toward those that have served and been a part of this community over the years.”
“There’s no easy way to do this,” Bennett went on to say. “How do you bring a close to something like this, to the Forerunner Church? And so I appreciate your grace and your patience and your sensitivity during this time.”
Bennett went on to acknowledge that “this has been a very painful season. It’s been marked by very painful events.”
“We are in a season of expressing gratitude to the Lord, but there’s a real loss that many have expressed and are experiencing,” he added, apologizing both to those who were present and those “who have moved on.”
 Forerunner Church held its final service on Sunday (May 19) amid an ongoing sex abuse scandal centered on its founder, Mike Bickle. ){kind=link}