ABOUT IHOP-KCJoseph and Heba are in leadership at the International House of Prayer of Kansas City (IHOP-KC). IHOP-KC is an international missions organization in Kansas City which embraces fervent intercessory worship and prayer with fasting as a foundation for effective outreach to the lost and poor. We deeply believe that unceasing intercession and fasting make outreach more effective.
The IHOP Missions Base is committed to Prayer (intercession, worship, healing, prophesying), Fasting (covering 365 days a year), the Great Commission (proclaiming Jesus to all nations), and the Forerunner Spirit (preparing the Church as a Bride for the unique dynamics of the End Times).
Our work includes equipping and sending thousands of missionaries as dedicated intercessors and evangelists whose goal is to see revival within the Church and a harvest among the lost. We also have a mandate to train believers to love Jesus and others wholeheartedly as they go out preaching the Word, healing the sick, serving the poor, and planting houses of prayer across the earth.
At the heart of our Missions Base is ‘The Prayer Room’, a prayer furnace engaging in continuous 24/7 worship and prayer. The Prayer Room is a place of encounter, transformation, revelation, and equipping for the work of the Great Commission as well as a “rallying point” for believers across the earth to gather to intercede for the Great Harvest and plead for mercy in times of crisis.
Originally, our inspiration came from Anna, the first evangelist and forerunner in the New Testament who prayed and fasted for over sixty years before the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:37), as well as from King David who organized 4,000 musicians and 288 singers to worship God twenty-four hours a day (1 Chronicles 23–25). On September 19, 1999, we began to pray and worship twenty-four hours a day in our zeal to more effectively win the lost. Currently, we have over 500 staff committed to do what Anna and David did. Our vision is to train and mobilize 5,000 full time "intercessory missionaries" and then to send them out across the earth.
The Lord is sending thousands of young people to us. We train them by providing a place for them to experience 24/7 prayer, fasting and worship that flows from enjoying intimacy with Jesus as their bridegroom God, and then to give them practical hands-on training in outreach.
STATEMENT OF FAITH
WE BELIEVE that only the sixty-six books of the Bible are the inspired, and therefore inerrant, Word of God. The Bible is the final authority for all we believe and how we are to live. [Matthew 5:18; John 10:35 and 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16–17; 2 Peter 1:20–21]
WE BELIEVE that the one true God exists eternally in three persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—and that these, being one God, are equal in deity, power and glory. We believe that God not only created the world but also now upholds, sustains, governs and providentially directs all that exists and that He will bring all things to their proper consummation in Christ Jesus to the glory of His name. [Psalm 104 and 139; Matthew 10:29–31 and 28:19; Acts 17:24–28; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 1:9–12 and 4:4-6; Colossians 1:16–17; Hebrews 1:1–3; Revelation 1:4–6]
WE BELIEVE that Satan, originally the great and good angel Lucifer, rebelled against God, taking a multitude of angels with him. He was cast out of God’s presence and is at work with his demonic hosts to establish his counter-kingdom of darkness, evil and unrest on Earth. Satan was judged and defeated at the cross of Christ and will, at the end of the age, be cast forever into the lake of fire which has been prepared for him and his angels. [Isaiah 14:10–17; Ezekiel 28:11–19; Matthew 12:25–29 and 25:41; John 12:31 and 16:11; Ephesians 6:10–20; Colossians 2:15; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6; Revelation 12:7–9 and 20:10]
WE BELIEVE that Adam was originally created in the image of God, righteous and without sin. In consequence of his disobedience, Adam’s posterity are born subject to both imputed and inherent sin, and are therefore by nature and choice the children of wrath, justly condemned in the sight of God, wholly unable to save themselves or to contribute in any way to their acceptance with God. [Genesis 1–3; Psalm 51:5; Isaiah 53:5; Romans 3:9–18 and 5:12–21; Ephesians 2:1–3]
WE BELIEVE that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, that He was conceived and born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and offered Himself as a penal, substitutionary sacrifice for sinners. By His blood shed at the Cross, He obtained for us eternal redemption, the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting. He was raised bodily on the third day and ascended to the right hand of the Father, there to make intercession for the saints forever. [Matthew 1:18–25; John 1:1–18; Romans 8:34; 1 Corinthians 15:1–28; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:10–14; Ephesians 1:7; Philippians 2:6–11; Colossians 1:15–23; Hebrews 7:25, 9:13–15 and 10:19; 1 Peter 2:21–25; 1 John 2:1–2]
WE BELIEVE that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. No ordinance, ritual, work or any other activity on the part of man is required or accepted in order to be saved. This saving grace of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, also sanctifies us by enabling us to do what is pleasing in God’s sight in order that we might be progressively conformed to the image of Christ. [John 1:12–13, 6:37–44 and 10:25–30; Acts 16:30–31; Romans 3–4 and 8:1–17, 31-39 and 10:8–10; Ephesians 2:8–10; Philippians 2:12–13; Titus 3:3–7; 1 John 1:7, 9]
WE BELIEVE that the Lord Jesus Christ baptizes believers in the Holy Spirit, in whom we are also sealed for the day of redemption. The Holy Spirit regenerates, forever indwells, and graciously equips the Christian for godly living and service. Subsequent to conversion, the Spirit desires to fill, empower and anoint believers for ministry and witness. We also believe that signs and wonders, as well as all the gifts of the Spirit described in the New Testament, are operative today and are designed to testify to the presence of the Kingdom and to empower and edify the Church to fulfill its calling and mission. [Matthew 3:11; John 1:12–13 and 3:1–15; Acts 4:29–30; Romans 8:9 and 12:3–8; 1 Corinthians 12:12–13; 2 Corinthians 1:21–22; Galatians 3:1–5; Ephesians 1:13–14 and 5:18]
WE BELIEVE that water baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the two ordinances of the Church to be observed until the time of Christ’s return. They are not a means of salvation, but are channels of God’s sanctifying grace and blessing to the faithful in Christ Jesus. [Matthew 26:26–29 and 28:19; Romans 6:3–11; 1 Corinthians 11:23–34; 1 Peter 3:21]
WE BELIEVE that the Church is God’s primary instrument through which He is fulfilling His redemptive purposes in the earth. To equip the saints for the work of ministry, God has given the Church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. We also affirm the priesthood of all believers and the importance of every Christian being joined with and actively involved in a local community of the saints. We believe that women, no less than men, are called and gifted to proclaim the Gospel and do all the works of the Kingdom. [Matthew 16:17–19; Acts 2:17–18, 42; Ephesians 3:14–21 and 4:11–16; 1 Timothy 2:11–15; Hebrews 10:23–25; 1 Peter 2:4–5 and 9–10]
WE BELIEVE that God has called the Church to preach the Gospel to all nations, and especially to remember the poor and to minister to their needs through sacrificial giving and practical service. This ministry is an expression of the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ and is an essential part of the Kingdom of God. [Isaiah 58:6–12 and 61:1; Matthew 5–7, 28:18–20; Luke 4:18 and 21:1–4; Galatians 2:10; 1 Timothy 6:8]
WE BELIEVE in the literal Second Coming of Christ at the end of the age when He will return to Earth personally and visibly to consummate His Kingdom. We also believe in and are praying for a great end-time harvest of souls and the emergence of a victorious Church that will experience an unprecedented unity, purity and power in the Holy Spirit. [Psalms 2:7–9 and 22:27–28; John 14:12 and 17:20–26; Romans 11:25–32; 1 Corinthians 15:20–28, 50–58; Ephesians 4:11–16; Philippians 3:20–21; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:11; 2 Thessalonians 1:3–12; Revelation 7:9–14]
WE BELIEVE that when the Christian dies they pass immediately into the blessed presence of Christ, there to enjoy conscious fellowship with the Savior until the day of the resurrection and glorious transformation of the body. The saved will then forever dwell in blissful fellowship with their great triune God. We also believe that when the unbeliever dies they are consigned to Hell, there to await the day of judgment when they shall be punished with eternal, conscious and tormented separation from the presence of God in the lake of fire. [Matthew 25:46; Luke 16:19–31; John 5:25–29; 1 Corinthians 15:35–58; 2 Corinthians 5:1–10; Philippians 1:19–26 and 3:20–21; 2 Thessalonians 1:5–10; Revelation 20:11–15 and 21:1–22:15]
VISION STATEMENT
Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night…? (Luke 18:7)
Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. (Luke 24:49)
The priests… the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when Israel went astray… they shall come near Me to minister to Me… says the Lord. (Ezekiel 44:15)
A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out. (Leviticus 6:13)
Vision Statement
We desire (1) to call forth, train and mobilize worshipping intercessors who operate in the forerunner spirit as end-time prophetic messengers; (2) to establish a 24/7 prayer room in Kansas City as a perpetual solemn assembly that gathers corporately to fast and pray in the spirit of the Tabernacle of David as God’s primary method of establishing justice. Our first priority is to keep the charge of this prayer sanctuary and then, (3) to send out teams to plant houses of prayer in the nations AFTER God grants a breakthrough of His power in Kansas City.
Foundational Commitments
IHOP–KC acknowledges our call to live worthy of the Gospel. We understand that the imposition of external “rules of behavior” is not our ideal to motivate people to holiness. Our motivations for holiness are love for Jesus and people, not the pressure of imposed rules. However, in the spirit of Galatians 3:21–23, we recognize the need for standards to be set in place until the character of Christ is formed in us as articulated in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7). It is in this spirit that we affirm the following:
IHOP Missions Base is a community of believers who have committed themselves to Jesus as Lord to live as forerunners in the spirit of John the Baptist, preparing the way for the second coming of Jesus Christ. This commitment governs the way we live our private lives and the way we relate to others.
The IHOP community seeks to witness to authentic Christian discipleship by living with integrity, purity and love. The IHOP community asks all its staff members—both full-time and part-time—to commit to live counter to the prevailing moral laxity of our society by not participating in or condoning sexual activity outside of marriage, the use of illegal drugs and to refrain from public or social (any gathering that involves or may influence anyone outside the context of immediate family members) use of alcoholic beverages, tobacco or gambling. We believe that it is an essential commitment in view of our calling as a community to reach young adults.
BRIEF HISTORY OF IHOP-KC
Like many of the Lord’s endeavors, our story goes back decades. For more details on the progression of events from the early days, listen to the Encountering Jesus Series online (available soon).
The dates listed here are our ‘recent history’ in respect to what God has been doing behind the scenes in preparing us for this work.
May 7, 1999 – International House of Prayer birthed (13 hours/day)
Sept. 19, 1999 – International House of Prayer begins 24 hours a day.
Jan 2008 – Luke18 Project launched to begin planting prayer furnaces all across the earth
IS THIS A NEW IDEA?
No- far from it! In fact, perpetual solemn assemblies have played a key part of the formation of the church down through the centuries. For example:
Bangor, Ireland – in 555 A.D. a Celtic monk named Comgall and his co-worker Columbanus gathered 3000 monks to a place called Bangor (i.e. the High Choir). They began a prayer meeting that continued for 300 years resulting in the first Celtic missions movement in history.
Clairvaux, France – in 1120 A.D. a Catholic monk named Bernard gathered 700 monks to a valley called Clairvaux (the valley of light). They began a prayer meeting that continued 24 hours a day for many years resulting in a dynamic release of evangelism through signs and wonders across all Europe.
Herrnhut, Germany – in 1727 an intercessory missions base was established in Germany by Count Zinzendorf. They began prayer meetings that continued twenty-four hours a day for over one hundred years, resulting in the first Protestant missions movement in history, known as the Moravians. They discovered that night and day prayer releases evangelism and missions. To this we say, "Yes, Lord. Do this all over the earth, even in our day!"
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About IHOP-KC
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The IHOP Missions Base is committed to Prayer (intercession, worship, healing, prophesying), Fasting (covering 365 days a year), the Great Commission (proclaiming Jesus to all nations), and the Forerunner Spirit (preparing the Church as a Bride for the unique dynamics of the End Times).
At the heart of our Missions Base is ‘The Prayer Room’, a prayer furnace engaging in continuous 24/7 worship and prayer. The Prayer Room is a place of encounter, transformation, revelation, and equipping for the work of the Great Commission as well as a “rallying point” for believers across the earth to gather to intercede for the Great Harvest and plead for mercy in times of crisis.
The Lord is sending thousands of young people to us. We train them by providing a place for them to experience 24/7 prayer, fasting and worship that flows from enjoying intimacy with Jesus as their bridegroom God, and then to give them practical hands-on training in outreach.
WE BELIEVE that only the sixty-six books of the Bible are the inspired, and therefore inerrant, Word of God. The Bible is the final authority for all we believe and how we are to live. [Matthew 5:18; John 10:35 and 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16–17; 2 Peter 1:20–21]
WE BELIEVE that the one true God exists eternally in three persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—and that these, being one God, are equal in deity, power and glory. We believe that God not only created the world but also now upholds, sustains, governs and providentially directs all that exists and that He will bring all things to their proper consummation in Christ Jesus to the glory of His name. [Psalm 104 and 139; Matthew 10:29–31 and 28:19; Acts 17:24–28; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 1:9–12 and 4:4-6; Colossians 1:16–17; Hebrews 1:1–3; Revelation 1:4–6]
WE BELIEVE that Satan, originally the great and good angel Lucifer, rebelled against God, taking a multitude of angels with him. He was cast out of God’s presence and is at work with his demonic hosts to establish his counter-kingdom of darkness, evil and unrest on Earth. Satan was judged and defeated at the cross of Christ and will, at the end of the age, be cast forever into the lake of fire which has been prepared for him and his angels. [Isaiah 14:10–17; Ezekiel 28:11–19; Matthew 12:25–29 and 25:41; John 12:31 and 16:11; Ephesians 6:10–20; Colossians 2:15; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6; Revelation 12:7–9 and 20:10]
WE BELIEVE that Adam was originally created in the image of God, righteous and without sin. In consequence of his disobedience, Adam’s posterity are born subject to both imputed and inherent sin, and are therefore by nature and choice the children of wrath, justly condemned in the sight of God, wholly unable to save themselves or to contribute in any way to their acceptance with God. [Genesis 1–3; Psalm 51:5; Isaiah 53:5; Romans 3:9–18 and 5:12–21; Ephesians 2:1–3]
WE BELIEVE that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, that He was conceived and born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and offered Himself as a penal, substitutionary sacrifice for sinners. By His blood shed at the Cross, He obtained for us eternal redemption, the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting. He was raised bodily on the third day and ascended to the right hand of the Father, there to make intercession for the saints forever. [Matthew 1:18–25; John 1:1–18; Romans 8:34; 1 Corinthians 15:1–28; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:10–14; Ephesians 1:7; Philippians 2:6–11; Colossians 1:15–23; Hebrews 7:25, 9:13–15 and 10:19; 1 Peter 2:21–25; 1 John 2:1–2]
WE BELIEVE that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. No ordinance, ritual, work or any other activity on the part of man is required or accepted in order to be saved. This saving grace of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, also sanctifies us by enabling us to do what is pleasing in God’s sight in order that we might be progressively conformed to the image of Christ. [John 1:12–13, 6:37–44 and 10:25–30; Acts 16:30–31; Romans 3–4 and 8:1–17, 31-39 and 10:8–10; Ephesians 2:8–10; Philippians 2:12–13; Titus 3:3–7; 1 John 1:7, 9]
WE BELIEVE that the Lord Jesus Christ baptizes believers in the Holy Spirit, in whom we are also sealed for the day of redemption. The Holy Spirit regenerates, forever indwells, and graciously equips the Christian for godly living and service. Subsequent to conversion, the Spirit desires to fill, empower and anoint believers for ministry and witness. We also believe that signs and wonders, as well as all the gifts of the Spirit described in the New Testament, are operative today and are designed to testify to the presence of the Kingdom and to empower and edify the Church to fulfill its calling and mission. [Matthew 3:11; John 1:12–13 and 3:1–15; Acts 4:29–30; Romans 8:9 and 12:3–8; 1 Corinthians 12:12–13; 2 Corinthians 1:21–22; Galatians 3:1–5; Ephesians 1:13–14 and 5:18]
WE BELIEVE that water baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the two ordinances of the Church to be observed until the time of Christ’s return. They are not a means of salvation, but are channels of God’s sanctifying grace and blessing to the faithful in Christ Jesus. [Matthew 26:26–29 and 28:19; Romans 6:3–11; 1 Corinthians 11:23–34; 1 Peter 3:21]
WE BELIEVE that the Church is God’s primary instrument through which He is fulfilling His redemptive purposes in the earth. To equip the saints for the work of ministry, God has given the Church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. We also affirm the priesthood of all believers and the importance of every Christian being joined with and actively involved in a local community of the saints. We believe that women, no less than men, are called and gifted to proclaim the Gospel and do all the works of the Kingdom. [Matthew 16:17–19; Acts 2:17–18, 42; Ephesians 3:14–21 and 4:11–16; 1 Timothy 2:11–15; Hebrews 10:23–25; 1 Peter 2:4–5 and 9–10]
WE BELIEVE that God has called the Church to preach the Gospel to all nations, and especially to remember the poor and to minister to their needs through sacrificial giving and practical service. This ministry is an expression of the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ and is an essential part of the Kingdom of God. [Isaiah 58:6–12 and 61:1; Matthew 5–7, 28:18–20; Luke 4:18 and 21:1–4; Galatians 2:10; 1 Timothy 6:8]
WE BELIEVE in the literal Second Coming of Christ at the end of the age when He will return to Earth personally and visibly to consummate His Kingdom. We also believe in and are praying for a great end-time harvest of souls and the emergence of a victorious Church that will experience an unprecedented unity, purity and power in the Holy Spirit. [Psalms 2:7–9 and 22:27–28; John 14:12 and 17:20–26; Romans 11:25–32; 1 Corinthians 15:20–28, 50–58; Ephesians 4:11–16; Philippians 3:20–21; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:11; 2 Thessalonians 1:3–12; Revelation 7:9–14]
WE BELIEVE that when the Christian dies they pass immediately into the blessed presence of Christ, there to enjoy conscious fellowship with the Savior until the day of the resurrection and glorious transformation of the body. The saved will then forever dwell in blissful fellowship with their great triune God. We also believe that when the unbeliever dies they are consigned to Hell, there to await the day of judgment when they shall be punished with eternal, conscious and tormented separation from the presence of God in the lake of fire. [Matthew 25:46; Luke 16:19–31; John 5:25–29; 1 Corinthians 15:35–58; 2 Corinthians 5:1–10; Philippians 1:19–26 and 3:20–21; 2 Thessalonians 1:5–10; Revelation 20:11–15 and 21:1–22:15]
Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night…? (Luke 18:7)
Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. (Luke 24:49)
The priests… the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when Israel went astray… they shall come near Me to minister to Me… says the Lord. (Ezekiel 44:15)
A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out. (Leviticus 6:13)
Vision Statement
We desire (1) to call forth, train and mobilize worshipping intercessors who operate in the forerunner spirit as end-time prophetic messengers; (2) to establish a 24/7 prayer room in Kansas City as a perpetual solemn assembly that gathers corporately to fast and pray in the spirit of the Tabernacle of David as God’s primary method of establishing justice. Our first priority is to keep the charge of this prayer sanctuary and then, (3) to send out teams to plant houses of prayer in the nations AFTER God grants a breakthrough of His power in Kansas City.
Foundational Commitments
IHOP–KC acknowledges our call to live worthy of the Gospel. We understand that the imposition of external “rules of behavior” is not our ideal to motivate people to holiness. Our motivations for holiness are love for Jesus and people, not the pressure of imposed rules. However, in the spirit of Galatians 3:21–23, we recognize the need for standards to be set in place until the character of Christ is formed in us as articulated in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7). It is in this spirit that we affirm the following:
IHOP Missions Base is a community of believers who have committed themselves to Jesus as Lord to live as forerunners in the spirit of John the Baptist, preparing the way for the second coming of Jesus Christ. This commitment governs the way we live our private lives and the way we relate to others.
The IHOP community seeks to witness to authentic Christian discipleship by living with integrity, purity and love. The IHOP community asks all its staff members—both full-time and part-time—to commit to live counter to the prevailing moral laxity of our society by not participating in or condoning sexual activity outside of marriage, the use of illegal drugs and to refrain from public or social (any gathering that involves or may influence anyone outside the context of immediate family members) use of alcoholic beverages, tobacco or gambling. We believe that it is an essential commitment in view of our calling as a community to reach young adults.
Like many of the Lord’s endeavors, our story goes back decades. For more details on the progression of events from the early days, listen to the Encountering Jesus Series online (available soon).
The dates listed here are our ‘recent history’ in respect to what God has been doing behind the scenes in preparing us for this work.
No- far from it! In fact, perpetual solemn assemblies have played a key part of the formation of the church down through the centuries. For example:
Bangor, Ireland – in 555 A.D. a Celtic monk named Comgall and his co-worker Columbanus gathered 3000 monks to a place called Bangor (i.e. the High Choir). They began a prayer meeting that continued for 300 years resulting in the first Celtic missions movement in history.
Clairvaux, France – in 1120 A.D. a Catholic monk named Bernard gathered 700 monks to a valley called Clairvaux (the valley of light). They began a prayer meeting that continued 24 hours a day for many years resulting in a dynamic release of evangelism through signs and wonders across all Europe.
Herrnhut, Germany – in 1727 an intercessory missions base was established in Germany by Count Zinzendorf. They began prayer meetings that continued twenty-four hours a day for over one hundred years, resulting in the first Protestant missions movement in history, known as the Moravians. They discovered that night and day prayer releases evangelism and missions. To this we say, "Yes, Lord. Do this all over the earth, even in our day!"