Forerunner Church Has Final Service Amid IHOPKC Shuttering of Ministry
Forerunner Church celebrated its final church service on Pentecost Sunday before its closure.
Forerunner Church is a branch of the International House of Prayer Kansas City (IHOPKC) ministry. After multiplying scandals surrounding ministry founder, Mike Bickle, IHOPKC decided to shutter everything except for the 24-hour prayer room.
“This morning our heart is really to just express gratitude to the Lord and gratitude toward those that have served and been a part of this community over the years,” Pastor Isaac Bennett said.
Bennett said he believes the Lord has many more great things in store for Forerunner’s congregants and gave his deepest appreciation for those who have been part of this ministry.
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“I appreciate your grace and your patience and your sensitivity during this time,” Bennett said. “There’s just no easy way to do what we’re going to do here…I just recognize that this has been a very painful season. It’s been marked by very painful events for different ones and for those in this community.”
Bennett said that while the Forerunner Church community is in a season of gratitude for all that the Lord has done, it is also a season of loss.
“There’s real loss that many are experiencing and that loss includes relationships. And I just want to acknowledge that for our spiritual family, and I’m so sorry for the pain and difficulty that you’ve been through,” Bennett pleaded.
As Forerunner Church’s doors have come to a close, Bennett desires this to be a time of healing, comfort and rest in Jesus for those who have been affected and wounded by the IHOPKC scandals. Bennett admits that the closing of the church is what is best for all people at this point in time.
“We believe that it needs to happen. It needs to happen so that we can move forward with a new start and this will mark the fresh start for many individuals and many different areas of our community. Some will regather here, others the Lord is going to reassign to various communities and ministries. And we want you to know that we bless you,” Bennett said.
Toward the end of the service, Bennett invited anyone who would like to be part of the future of IHOPKC to join him in what God has next for this ministry.
“We know that the Lord is releasing a new wine skin that He’s going to give strategic insight of how to construct that wine skin because there is a new wine. There is a new anointing that the Lord wants to release upon this people,” Bennett said.
This new gathering of dedicated IHOPKC members will begin on the 29 of May.
The abuse scandals surrounding Mike Bickle completely shifted the future of this ministry. Now as Forerunner Church closes its doors, let our prayers be for all those who have been affected by these tumultuous events.
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Abby Trivett is a marketing copywriter and coordinator for Charisma Media.
