IHOP Founder Mike Bickle Accused of Sexual Abuse, Asked Not to Teach or Preach

Mike Bickle, the founder and longtime leader of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Missouri (IHOPKC) has been accused of sexual abuse by women spanning several decades. 

In a statement released Saturday, Oct. 28, former IHOP leaders Dwayne Roberts and Brian Kim, along with Wes Martin, the former pastor of Forerunner Christian Fellowship, said, "A few days ago, we made the leadership team of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City (IHOPKC) aware of serious allegations spanning several decades concerning its founder, Mike Bickle."

"Without going into details to protect the privacy of the victims' identities, we have found these allegations of clergy sexual abuse by Mike Bickle to be credible and long-standing. The credibility of these allegations is not based on any one experience or any one victim, but on the collective and corroborating testimony of the experiences of several victims," the statement said. 

The names of the women who accused Bickle have not been released. 

The three men said prior to meeting with the leadership team of IHOP, they attempted to bring the allegations and the testimony of one of the victims directly to Mike Bickle, who refused to meet with them. 

Martin, Kim, and Roberts wrote, "To be clear, the allegations made about Mike Bickle's misconduct were sexual in nature where the marriage covenant was not honored. Furthermore, the allegations made also reveal that Mike Bickle used his position of spiritual authority over the victims to manipulate them." 

Last Sunday, Bickle preached a sermon warning about the dangers of false allegations, the Religion News Service reported. 

IHOPKC Executive Director Stuart Greaves held a special meeting of the church staff in a meeting Friday, (Oct. 27) to inform them about the allegations against Bickle, 68, according to The Kansas City Star. 

Bickle has led the IHOPKC organization since it was founded in 1999.

On Sunday, Oct. 29, the IHOPKC Executive leadership team announced to their Forerunner Church spiritual family about the allegations against Bickle. 

The text of the statement was also posted on the social media platform X. 

"We are heartbroken to share that we have recently become aware of serious allegations including sexual immorality directed against Mike Bickle, the founder of IHOPKC. Our leadership team takes these allegations very seriously and we are laboring for truth, light, redemption, and righteousness. We are engaging with outside parties to access and arbitrate these allegations," the team's statement said. 

The leaders asked the congregation "for patience as we work through this complex and very difficult situation."

The team also said on Oct. 26 it had "asked Bickle and he agreed to not preach or teach from the IHOPKC platform, attend our 24-hour prayer room or engage his social media channels while we work with others to address this situation."

"As difficult as this is for many, we are trusting in Jesus' wise and good leadership to help and strengthen us as we anchor our hope in him," the statement concluded. 

CBN News has reached out to IHOPKC for further comment.  We will post it here if we hear back. 

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Meanwhile, revivalist Dr. Malachi O'Brien, who has ties to IHOPKC and Bickle, issued an extensive statement of his own, saying he was stunned by the allegations. "48 hours (ago) I was made aware of news that rocked me. News that I never thought I would hear. News I knew would become national headlines..."

In a statement on X, he acknowledged, "The TENSION of innocent until proven guilty AND the need to validate and care for victims of any and all kinds of abuse. Mike has denied the allegations and I choose to believe he deserves the benefit of the doubt and I fully believed credible accusations must be taken seriously and victims deserve to be taken seriously and helped/heard in all ways. We must never victimize victims with our words. They need safety to share without repercussions & character assassination."

O'Brien continued, "What is hidden will be made known. The faith family of IHOPKC and Forerunner church need our prayers."