7-day fast aims to support ousted IHOPKC founder. Critics say he’s mounting comeback
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- A Grandview house church is promoting a seven-day fast May 1–7 for Mike Bickle.
- Survivors and former IHOPKC followers say the fast renews comeback concerns.
- A February 2025 investigation found Bickle committed abuse or misconduct against 17 women.
A house church that formed in Grandview after the International House of Prayer-Kansas City ousted founder Mike Bickle over a sex abuse scandal is calling for a worldwide week of prayer and fasting for his “heaven-ordained destiny.”
“We are joining globally on a 7 day fast specifically targeted upon Mike Bickle — to push back the press of darkness and agree with Heaven’s narrative over his life to come forth,” said an email sent over the weekend to Bickle supporters.
The fast is to go from May 1 through May 7, which is IHOPKC’s 27th anniversary.
The action has infuriated sex abuse survivors and former supporters of the 24/7 global prayer ministry and renewed concerns that the fallen charismatic leader is trying to orchestrate a comeback.
IHOPKC announced in December 2023 that it was “permanently” separating from Bickle after allegations were made public that fall that he used prophecies to groom, sexually abuse and manipulate women over multiple decades.
“Sadly, he and those whom he has deceived are more concerned with his 50-year legacy, that’s actually tainted the entire time with pedophilia and manipulative sexual predation, than they are with the health of his soul,” said Tammy Woods, who alleged in 2024 that Bickle sexually abused her starting in the 1980s when she was 14.
“They are more concerned with restoring his voice to a platform than restoring him back to God,” Woods said in a statement to The Star. “And referring to those of us, his victims, who have spoken the truth and brought light to his darkness, as ‘the press of darkness’ against Mike is deplorable.”
A document describing the fast says the first day is for “Divine Protection for Mike Bickle.” Other days, it says, include fasting “For the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon Mike Bickle in revelation and power” and “For the fulfillment of all the prophetic promises over Mike Bickle’s life.”
The email about the fast, sent from “The Kansas City Friends of Mike Bickle,” said that “the last few years have brought a dramatic assault against the prayer movement and specifically Mike Bickle.”
An “Isaiah 62 Fast for Israel” that Bickle organized in 2023, the email said, “struck a clear nerve in the second heavens and a brutal assault hit back to shatter, confuse, and silence clear messaging and organized prayer for Israel in a critical hour.”
The assault, it said, “has been particularly true” for Bickle, whom it called “one of the foremost clear voices on Israel in the endtimes.”
“The press to silence Mike Bickle’s voice through weaponizing long past sin against him continues to move at every turn,” it said.
50 years of fasting and prayer
For more than 50 years, the email said, Bickle has fasted and prayed for the church and for Israel.
“Now it is our turn to fast and pray for the heaven-ordained destiny of a man whose work on the earth for the sake of Israel is not yet complete,” it said. “There are yet necessary and confirmed prophetic purposes designated to manifest forth through his life.”
The house church promoting the fast, Grandview Fellowship, has been meeting at the home of Clay and Sarah Edwards. Clay Edwards is the brother of singer/songwriter Misty Edwards, a former prominent IHOPKC worship leader.
Clay Edwards, Bickle and IHOPKC Executive Director Joseph Taylor did not respond to requests for comment about the fast.
Former IHOPKC followers say Bickle has heavily influenced Edwards’ small church. Bickle’s wife, Diane, has attended, giving the sermons on Nov. 9, 2025, and Jan. 11, according to the church’s website. And the notes that accompany the sermons in outline form are strikingly similar to those Bickle provided for years, even down to the practice of boldfacing, italicizing and underlining certain points.
The document detailing the upcoming fast provides a link to Bickle’s website.
That site welcomes visitors “to the teaching library of Mike Bickle” and says it “contains over 3,000 audio and video files of Mike’s rich teaching history, including links to handouts and study notes.”
The topics include “IHOPKC’s Prophetic History” and videos featuring Bickle’s teachings on the End Times and prayer and fasting. Much of the information used to be on IHOPKC’s website but was taken down after the ministry said it had parted ways with Bickle.
Elizabeth Herder, a former IHOPKC senior leader and board member, said “there is no question” that Bickle is trying to make a comeback.
“Mike is focused on preserving the mythology and legacy of his life, ensuring he remains the hero,” she said in a text message to The Star. Bickle repeatedly emphasizes several points, she said: past, not recent, mistakes; Satan is attacking him; his crucial role in world events, reinforcing his followers’ significance through him; and his position as a martyr in the face of injustice.
“Despite his efforts to make a comeback,” Herder said, “only a small group, including some women from his controversial ‘research team,’ follows him.”
Zoom meetings and home gatherings
Herder said Bickle has home gatherings and “holds Zoom meetings with uninformed and susceptible people in faraway nations.”
“To maintain his perceived importance, he relies on others believing in his significance, therefore their own,” she said. “He periodically calls his followers to a big vision, providing them with a sense of belonging and significance — they are really part of the injustice he has suffered and the endurance required to keep the dream alive — they are special.”
Herder said Bickle “likely orchestrated this new ‘fast for breakthrough’ while making his followers believe it’s their idea, securing another year of their dedication.”
“He understands the cycle of reinforcement well: positioning himself as a pivotal spiritual figure, making his followers feel significant by association. Also — give money — don’t forget that important part of sacrificing and believing: money. Mike creates his own brand of an addiction cycle. Is it a cult? You decide.”
Bickle, now 70, issued his only public statement about the allegations on Dec. 12, 2023, admitting that he had “sinned” and “my moral failures were real.” But he was vague on details.
In a lengthy note posted on X, Bickle said his “inappropriate behavior” occurred more than 20 years earlier, but he did not admit to engaging in any sexual misconduct. Ten days later, IHOPKC announced it was “immediately, formally and permanently” separating from Bickle.
Last September, a team of church leaders and professional therapists said Bickle had violated Scripture and should be permanently disqualified from any kind of church leadership position.
The team was established to make recommendations to IHOPKC after a third-party investigation released in February 2025 found that Bickle committed sexual abuse or misconduct against 17 women — including minors — over decades, amid a thriving culture of systematic abuse and coverups.
Bickle’s youngest sibling and strong ally, Lisa Stribling — who with her husband, Ray, runs Hope City KC, a house of prayer and community center on Kansas City’s east side — has been pushing for his return to ministry.
Last August, she defended him in a Sunday sermon and called the sex abuse allegations against him a “false narrative” and “exotic trash.” The defiant Stribling then doubled down on her comments in a sermon the following Sunday and has repeatedly attacked Bickle’s alleged victims and their supporters on social media.
Woods said she was “all for” the world praying for Bickle.
“But let’s pray in accordance to God’s will: That Mike would be arrested with a spirit of repentance, humility and the fear of the Lord,” she said. “These are the kind of prayers God answers, and the heaven-ordained destiny for Mike.”
This story was originally published April 20, 2026 at 12:54 PM.
