Mike Bickle is an American Evangelical pastor who moved to Kansas City in 1982 to pastor a church in Grandview which he still pastors and is currently known as 'Forerunner Christian Fellowship'.
Bickle has written many books including Passion for Jesus and Growing in the prophetic. His ministry came to prominence in the late 80's and early 90's due to the culmination of two important events.
First Bickle began to have oversite for a group of prophets who were drawn to his church such as Bob Jones, Paul Cain and John Paul Jackson. They became known globally as the 'Kansas City Prophets' although it should be noted this this was not a title they called themselves.
Secondly Metro Christian Fellowship as it was then known joined the Vineyard Movement led by John Wimber. Part of Wimber's ministry was a commitment to renewal in the wider body of Christ and Paul Cain in particular became known around the body as Wimber would often share a platform with Cain as he went speaking around the world.
IHOP, that is the International House of Prayer, is a 24/7 or night and day prayer movement. Founded on May 7th 1999, they have been holding a prayer meeting that began in September 19th, 1999 and is still ongoing.
Or to put it another way as of the beginning of June this has lasted for well over 101,000 hours. Mike Bickle and IHOP are largely responsible for the huge phenomenon of Day and Night prayer that has since engulfed the earth and the body of christ.
Both Mike Bickle and IHOP have their detractors, largely this is because of the history of Bickle's ministry and the relationship between Prophets such as Bob Jones and Paul Cain and the whole Kansas City Prophets movement which has come under a great deal of criticism.
It is widely presumed that when Bickle started IHOP he stopped pastoring the church that has caused so much controversy. This is incorrect, Bickle still pastors the same church known currently as Forerunner Christian Fellowship which still meets in the same building in Grandview it met in at the time of the Kansas City Prophets controversy. Effectively IHOP is an extension of FCF.
Personally I do not understand why this is so widely presumed when in fact it is totally incorrect. As stated both Bickle and IHOP have their detractors, when we are being told to search the scriptures like the Bereans did it is a little difficult to accept this as a point of view when people can not even get the facts straight.
I would imagine it would be either a conscious or unconscious design to disconnect the controversy of the past with the current success of IHOP as a ministry.
The real truth would be that the genesis of the ministry of IHOP although small existed in the church well before the time of the Kansas City Prophets. In fact Bickle has stated the idea of the ministry of night and day prayer in the spirit of the tabernacle of David was prophesied by such people as Bob Jones from the near beginning of his time at Grandview pastoring the church.
