I attended IHOPKC starting at the age of twelve. I immediately joined Student Ministries as it served as a great catalyst to obtain new friends around my age. For a while, all was normal, and I enjoyed my time and experience at Student Ministries. Then, a male leader joined. This leader took a particular interest in me and a small group of other teen boys. This was not out of the ordinary as Student Ministries facilitated "small groups" of same-sex individuals that had a leader of the same sex over them. These "small groups" would meet both within and outside Student Ministries to get further into the Bible together and to encourage comradery among the teens. This leader became a counselor over me and my life both within IHOPKC and outside of it. I told him my entire life story and put all my trust in him. Eventually, on top of meeting with him with the rest of the "small group", we began meeting one-on-one. During these times, he began grooming me - and I will not go into detail on the grooming tactics that were involved. Generally, the grooming happened when we were alone, but there were a few times when it involved the rest of the "small group". Then, at the age of seventeen, it was put as a requirement on me by my parents to meet with the leader every week, this time as a therapist and official counselor for my struggles with same-sex attraction. It was at these required meetings that the grooming switched to sexual abuse. The abuse occurred over several meetings, and still to this day I am scarred and heartbroken. I feel like Student Ministries and IHOPKC let me down in a few different ways. As it stands the leader, who also played on worship teams, left IHOPKC a short time after the abuse and resides in the greater Kansas City area to this day.
- Student Ministries, Sound Tech2005-2023