Mike Bickle (minister) - Ministry

Ministry

Mike Bickle became an evangelical Christian when he was fifteen when his football coach paid his way to a Fellowship of Christian Athletes student conference in Estes Park, Colorado. After listening to Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach speak of his "personal relationship with Jesus," Bickle committed himself to become an evangelical Christian.

After serving as a pastor in several evangelical churches in St. Louis, Bickle moved to Kansas City to start the Kansas City Fellowship (now known as Metro Christian Fellowship) in November 1982. Eventually, Metro Christian Fellowship joined the Association of Vineyard Churches led by John Wimber in 1990 and remained a part of that association of churches until 1996. During his tenure as the pastor of Metro Christian Fellowship, Bickle pastored a group known to both detractors and supporters as the "Kansas City Prophets" that, by some accounts, included Bob Jones, Paul Cain, John Paul Jackson, and others. Bickle asserted no formal group known as the "Kansas City Prophets" ever existed, but that the term "clustered a whole bunch of personalities into one group and one stereotype."

During his ministry, Bickle claims to have had several encounters with God, including hearing the audible voice of God and being taken to heaven twice.

In 1999, Bickle left the church that he was pastoring, then a megachurch of over three thousand members, in order to start the International House of Prayer (also known by its acronym IHOP or by IHOP–KC). IHOP–KC is most well known for its daily prayer meetings based on its "harp and bowl" worship model that are held 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year since September 19, 1999. IHOP–KC also established a Bible college, known as the International House of Prayer University and several internships for young adults. In addition to these training programs, IHOP–KC also organizes various evangelism and charitable programs locally and internationally. The ministry currently consists of approximately 2,500 full-time staff members, students, and interns.

Bickle organizes the annual onething conference at the Kansas City Convention Center. In 2010, the event saw over 25,000 young adults attend. The conference focuses on worship music and sermons on prayer, evangelism, and Christian eschatology.

Bickle is known for dressing casually while preaching and for his avoidance of "charismatic self-referentiality".