I came to IHOPKC after attending the one thing 2006 conference, and being so impressed by the message, the music, and the fiery passion for Jesus. I felt my faith needed to look more like theirs and that I should spend time amongst a people like this for a while. 24-7 prayer was so amazing to me. There were so many books and teaching series. It seemed like I could dive in and learn forever. The preaching and teaching was passionate and emotion-filled. The young people seemed so mature and serious about their faith, loving God, studying the word, praying for and serving their cities. I would go back to my Christian college and finish my bachelors degree. All the while, having my quiet time informed by Ihop teaching and Ihop music. I felt closer to God, felt my faith was more alive, interned at a local prayer room, and decided to move to Kansas City in the fall of 2008 for their music school. The advertising for Ihop’s university in 2006 had a lot of language around how regular Christian colleges were getting it wrong. A recent graduate of a regular Christian college, I agreed with them. I felt my faith was dry and my spiritual life stale. I would take four classes that fall at Ihopu: The excellencies of Christ, with Allen Hood, the eternal glory of an intercessor with Cory Russell, end times /omega with David Sliker and song of Solomon (I cannot remember who taught that class.) I would learn that Ihop taught prophecy as encouragement during prayer, backed up with Bible verses. For example: “I think God has this verse for you right now.“ I was hesitant about this teaching, and I also didn’t understand the eschatology at all. It was a place packed with young adults, a Christian College round-two for me, and I couldn’t see the harm of not having enough mature, mothers and fathers in the faith at the time. I had been led to believe Ihop was a training center for mid 20s to older believers. I was shocked to discover it was mostly 18 to 25-year-olds who had not yet attended college, indeed, we’re treating this season like college, and that the music school I was enrolled in, was only two years old. I felt misled and falsely advertised to. At this point, I had signed a year lease and paid it for my first year in full. 2009 came the awakening. I experienced a physical healing there as well as powerful times of prayer where I truly felt the Lord was speaking to me. That heightened spiritual season seemed to be the answer to prayer, Even a gift from God after all of Ihop’s years of dedicated prayer. I experienced healing in the prayer room when I first arrived to Kansas City, this plus other times of healing and spirit -lead prayer led me to believe there was truly something special happening at Ihop and I wouldn’t enjoy this kind of faith expression anywhere else. Ihop pressured their students to raise Support the same way their staff raises Support. In 2006 when I learned about the school, Mike Bickle himself said the students supported themselves through part-time jobs. The administrators at the school seemed clueless as to arrange a schedule that would allow students adequate study, rest, and work time. I was incredibly burnt out and exhausted after only four years. Which allowed for little music education even though I was enrolled in the music school, and that is what I had come to Ihop for in the first place. I had desired to become part-time staff, stay involved, and use my musical and teaching gifts and talents for the prayer movement. I graduated in the spring of 2012, and by the fall of 2012 saw my classmates on the news and heard the horrible news of Bethany Deatons untimely passing. Though I had been required to give my instructors my phone number with which leaders would blow up staff phones, demanding they show up to this meeting or that, no phone calls, or texts were sent to me in the days and weeks following Bethany’s death. Because we gathered so regularly, and I was so used to hearing from the platform: teaching, encouragement and instruction in life and ministry… I felt crushed and bewildered my leaders were silent. They never gathered the students, never comforted the staff around the untimely death of one of their own interns, the imprisonment of one of their own students due to his confession of murdering her, and the accusations against Tyler himself whom they denied his level of involvement and worse, distanced themselves from his friends, and his group. They made Tyler, and they never owned up to that. I fully expected the leadership of Ihopu and greater Ihop to own and face the fact they had discipled, taught and trained these young people where these terrible abuses and tragedy had happened. But leadership remained silent. Everything I had heard about being above reproach was a lie. Everything they claimed they were trying to build with spiritual mothers and fathers was a lie. They abandoned us. They abandoned me. I believed they were not at liberty to say much because of an open investigation, but the lack of transparency, and the lack of pastoral care was absolutely crushing and it’s something they have yet to own, repent and repair. I slowly phased out of Ihop as much as I never wanted to leave. This was a faith expression I had come to love and also one I recognized as horribly dangerous. If Tyler Deaton and his group going completely unnoticed for years didn’t show this clearly enough to me, the events of 2018 would seal ihop is unsafe as fact. Brad Tebbutt Showed up in the news and had never clearly been removed from staff. It was evident they were not going to remove him, and that he had easily gained access to the community despite his history of sexual abuse. At this time I had heard several stories from women and friends, as to how Ihop sided with the abusive Party in their relationships. I had always held Hope for returning one day, but settled on the conclusion: Ihop is a safe-haven for abusers. Though full of many truly kind, God-fearing people, Ihop has Failed to bear the fruit one would expect out of such a spiritual, holy place. Her leaders have allowed wolves among the sheep, and now must examine The fruit of their own negligence: the innocent torn to shreds. I realized, though praying and crying out to God for it for more than 20 years, that Ihop is not a place that has been given the spirit of wisdom nor revelation.
- Student2008-2014