International House of Prayer
church in Missouri, United States
The International House of Prayer, Kansas City (IHOPKC), is an evangelical Christian movement and missions organization, based the nearby suburb of Grandview and formerly in Kansas City.
It is best known for the Global Prayer Room, which has run continuously with live worship teams since September 19, 1999, and simultaneously broadcasts via its website and YouTube channel. Doctrinally, IHOPKC is evangelical, and affirms historic premillennialism. IHOPKC places great importance on the practices of Bible study, prayer, worship, fasting, and works of justice.
Overview
History
The International House of Prayer of Kansas City (IHOPKC) was founded by Mike Bickle on May 7, 1999. The organization began in a small building off Grandview Road in Kansas City, Missouri, as a prayer room dedicated to worshiping Jesus night and day. Since that time, IHOPKC has grown and spread into several different locations throughout south Kansas City and Grandview, Missouri. As of November 2010, the church reported that it had over 1,000 staff and a student body of another 1,000 individuals.
On September 14, 2010, the International House of Pancakes announced that it was suing the International House of Prayer for trademark dilution and infringement. The lawsuit was dropped on December 21, 2010, with the dispute resolved out of court, and the International House of Prayer began abbreviating itself as IHOPKC.
Prayer Format
IHOPKC is best known for its prayer meetings, based on its "harp and bowl" worship model, which have been held 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, since September 19, 1999.
The public source identifies “International House of Prayer” as church in Missouri, United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around International, House and Prayer.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “International House of Prayer”, the useful work is to connect “church in Missouri, United States” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2976266. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1999 and 2010.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “International House of Prayer”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow International House of Prayer primary sources, International House of Prayer archive and International research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “International House of Prayer”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “International House of Prayer” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.