Story

I’m going to list it all for my own catharsis. During my internship a male leader repeatedly tried to get young women alone and was a “hands on” pray-er. I got reprimanded for asking for help and reminded not the partner with the accuser like from Mikes messages. Working at forerunner I was groped three times. Once in front of a higher up staff member. I recently found out my reports to hr were never even recorded or maybe they were but somehow don’t exist now… So I don’t have proof. Eventually one security guard got on my side and started watching, but other people labeled me as difficult because I needed the extra help. Another current (as of oct ‘23) male internship leader sneaks young women out of the apartments at night. I watched Internship house leaders be treated like dirt. I also saw Bob Hartley harass numerous women while slain in the spirit, no one did a thing. David Sliker regularly spoke so harshly to people that they quit asking questions about God. So many students expressed feeling defeated and like they could never know God because of how David taught them to view themselves and little and dumb. I was once shoved so hard in the head while someone was “praying” for me that I had significant neck pain. The lady who hurt me said “some people don’t want it” referring to falling out in the spirit. Mike Bickle took a special interest in a 18 year old from my internship, had one on one meetings with them and gave a special invite to join staff. Creepy. I watched them get so tired and sick looking as they worked late nights and early mornings. Somehow they brain washed me so much that I apologized to leaders for most of the things that happened above as if I caused them. For the record I’m not sorry anymore. I’m not sorry that I said Bob Hartley is a creep. Im not sorry for being an accuser when the accusation is correct. Im not sorry I said Mike’s one on ones with a young women are grooming or the way he gives young kids money. I’m not sorry that I exist in a body, I’m not the reason creepy men grope women. I’m not sorry for asking for help when myself and my friends were being SA-ed. I’m not sorry. You should be sorry. There’s a culture at ihop that punishes people who tell the truth until there’s no one with a voice left. Everyone at ihop who ever claimed to care about me or you was a liar in my opinion. You don’t leave those you care about to be SA-ed repeatedly. Everyone who stayed silent is just as bad. I hate reading all of these false sympathy posts from current ihopers apologizing for the negative experiences people have had. They’re not sorry it happened to us, they just don’t want to look like the bad guy who benefitted from our harm and did nothing while we were being SA-ed. They care about themselves and their image and climbing the ladder.

- Intern, staff2020-2021