IHOPKC changes course, hires new law firm to investigate sex abuse claims against founder

Less than a week after announcing that a national law firm would conduct an independent investigation into sexual abuse allegations against founder Mike Bickle, IHOPKC leaders have reversed their decision.

In an update posted on the ministry’s Facebook page Friday night, the leadership team said it had decided instead to hire a local Kansas City law firm to work on the case. It did not provide the name of the firm.

The action came after IHOPKC leaders faced heavy criticism on social media for their decision to hire Stinson LLP and from a change.org petition that as of late Friday had garnered more than 2,300 signatures. Critics were concerned that a law firm would not conduct a truly impartial investigation. Stinson is a large firm with 13 offices around the country, including Kansas City.

IHOPKC’s update was addressed to “Dear IHOPKC Family” and was posted at 8:52 p.m. Friday.

“Third parties that claim to represent alleged victims have communicated a lack of trust in the national law firm IHOPKC engaged to lead the inquiry,” it said. “After careful consideration, our leadership team has decided not to proceed with Stinson LLP and instead has retained a local KC law firm to conduct interviews with alleged victims.

“That local firm has already begun outreach to the few alleged victims whose identities are known, as well as the individuals claiming to represent anonymous Jane Does.”

The statement said that IHOPKC “is committed to investigating any allegations of abuse in our organization in a way that honors privacy, safety, and due process.”

“It is our sincere desire to serve and assist every alleged victim in order to see truth and light come forth during this sensitive and challenging time.”

The change.org petition, titled “STAND WITH US: Open Letter to the IHOPKC Leadership,” was created Wednesday by “IHOPKC Survivors” and said it was “for everyone who believes IHOPKC needs to investigate clergy sexual abuse allegations with integrity.”

It called for IHOPKC to hire a Virginia-based nonprofit called GRACE, which stands for Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment, “to conduct a true third-party investigation into the sexual abuse allegations and the systemic environment at IHOPKC in order to protect the interests of the alleged victims and current congregants.”

The petition also implored IHOPKC to allow GRACE to publicly release its findings without restriction by the ministry or its leadership.

And it said IHOPKC should provide contact information for — and direct people to — Kansas City police as well as the Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault (MOCSA) instead of sending them to its own pastoral care team, “given the conflict of interest and bias that team would have in the current situation, especially for those who may have allegations to disclose but have not come forward yet.”

In 2018, IHOPKC hired GRACE to conduct an independent investigation into allegations by a Washington woman who said an IHOPKC missionary, Brad Tebbutt, had sexually abused her for 2 ½ years when she was a teen and Tebbutt was a youth pastor at a Baptist church in Modesto, California. GRACE was founded by Boz Tchividjian, a former child abuse chief prosecutor and grandson of the late Rev. Billy Graham.

The results of that investigation weren’t made public.

Among those signing the change.org petition were former IHOPKC staff members and worship leaders, instructors, musicians, interns and students.

“I’m signing because I witnessed a culture of silencing and control at ihopkc that has devastated myself, my family, my friends, and hundreds of others who have come through there,” wrote a graduate of IHOP University. “A capable third party like GRACE is needed to investigate Mike and an unhealthy culture at IHOPKC that allowed abuses of all kinds to go unaddressed for decades.”

Another former follower wrote: “IHOPKC impacted my spiritual journey more than any other body even though most of my time was spent at other HOPs — the handling of this situation has shaken me — even as I left the faith — I still held the leadership in incredibly high regard and this makes me wonder what else was covered up/exaggerated/manipulated from the pulpit. The congregation and everyone in the movement deserves transparency and care free from bias.”

And one woman said she believed in IHOPKC’s mission “and want to see a full reckoning and repentance so that the mission can be saved.”

“Darkness dies in the light,” she wrote. “Healing comes in the light of His Presence. If these allegations prove true — may all who enabled abuse also receive consequences.”

Bickle, described by Religion News Service as “one of the most influential charismatic Christians in the United States,” founded IHOPKC as a 24/7 evangelical and missions organization. He has not responded publicly to the allegations.

With its headquarters on Red Bridge Road in south Kansas City, IHOPKC draws people from around the world to its university and round-the-clock “prayer room.” For years, it has come under criticism by ex-staffers and former followers who accuse it of being cult-like.

The allegations against Bickle surfaced on Oct. 27 when leaders called a meeting to inform staff members. They originally described Bickle’s alleged actions as “misconduct,” then later said the allegations were “unsettling” and involved “sexual immorality.”

The day after IHOPKC leaders told the staff about Bickle, three former leaders issued a statement saying they had made the leadership team aware of the allegations. They described the incidents as “clergy sexual abuse” and said they found the allegations “to be credible and long-standing.”

IHOPKC leaders have not said whether they have reported the allegations to police. At an Oct. 29 church service, they urged those who experienced “traumatic events that are of this nature” to seek out an IHOPKC leader or counselor.

On Nov. 5, IHOPKC executive director Stuart Greaves announced that Bickle had stepped away from public ministry while the Stinson LLP law firm investigated the allegations.

Greaves said there had been “several allegations raised” against Bickle, and “we are taking this process very seriously.”

“Firstly, to the women who have anonymously communicated allegations, we want to say that we value you, and we pray you feel safe to come forward,” he said.

“Regarding the allegations so far,” he said, “there has been one allegation from 26 years ago that has some credibility. There are other allegations that have been more difficult to ascertain due in part to the fact that they are either anonymous or represented by third parties.”

He said some of the alleged events occurred prior to IHOPKC’s founding in 1999.

“Additionally, some of the women that were named in the allegations have publicly refuted that they were ever victims of abuse, and even denounced the representatives of the alleged victim group for using their names without permission,” Greaves said. But “due to the variety of the nature of the allegations and our desire that all women involved would be well and fairly represented in this process,” he said, the leadership team decided to hire the outside law firm.

As IHOPKC leadership scrambles to tackle the growing concerns about the allegations and how they’re being handled, the case is attracting the attention of personal injury law firms across the country.

“The International House of Prayer Kansas City Pastor and Founder is accused by several women of committing sexual abuse over the course of decades,” said a news release from attorneys Mary Alexander and Bobby Thompson that was posted Tuesday on PR Newswire.

“Last week, the news broke, and brave women have come forward to hold Mike Bickle accountable for his alleged behavior.”

It said Alexander and Thompson — both described as church sex abuse attorneys — “are teaming up to help support the survivors of Pastor Mike Bickle’s alleged sexual abuse of women.”

“We’ve seen church sex abuse cases around the nation in various Catholic and Protestant denominations,” Alexander said. “Our goal is to help women pursue the justice they deserve.”

Alexander’s firm has offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and Thompson has offices in San Francisco and Kansas City.

Since the “IHOPKC sex scandal” surfaced last month, the release said, women were continuing to come forward to tell their stories.

“Churches can be vulnerable places for anyone, especially women, as they seek spiritual growth and healing with the help of supposedly trusted leaders,” Thompson said.

“These women deserve justice and the chance to hold their alleged perpetrators accountable.”