Boz Tchividjian wants IHOPKC shuttered as 3rd woman brings claim against Mike Bickle
Noted attorney and Billy Graham’s grandson, Boz Tchividjian, called for International House of Prayer Kansas City to be shuttered permanently after a third woman alleged she was groomed and sexually abused by the 24/7 prayer ministry’s founder Mike Bickle in the 1980s, when she was just 14.
“It’s time. It’s time to permanently close the doors at IHOPKC,” Tchividjian said in a statement via the X account of his law firm, BozLaw P.A. on Saturday.
“It’s time to take whatever monies are left & put them into a fund for those whose lives have been wrecked by a place that claims to love Jesus so much it prays to him 24/7. The praying hasn’t worked. It’s just made IHOPKC more pious in defending the indefensible. It’s time.”
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Using her maiden name, the third woman, Tammy Woods, who is now a 57-year-old mother and grandmother, told The Kansas City Star that Bickle abused her in St. Louis, where he pastored a church before moving to Kansas City and starting IHOPKC in 1999.
Woods said Bickle abused her in his car, at her home, in the church and his office. She said the abuse, which began when she started babysitting his two sons, involved sexual contact but not intercourse. She revealed that the IHOPKC founder also told her several times that his wife, Diane, would die young and suggested that she could be the mother to his sons.
“He would kiss my neck, he would kiss my cheeks, he would kiss my forehead,” Woods told the Star, recalling the first time Bickle kissed her like a lover at her house when she was still just 14. “The first, like, ‘kiss’ kiss was in my house. He kind of pulled me into my bathroom. And he kissed me like a man kisses a woman.”
Woods’ revelation comes in the wake of an independent report released to the public on Jan. 31, and prepared by attorney Rosalee McNamara, where Bickle confessed to engaging in "consensual sexual contact" with a woman connected to the 24/7 prayer ministry in addition to a previously confessed relationship with a primary Jane Doe who alleged she was his kept woman for several years.
"MB also admitted to inappropriate contact on three occasions with an individual connected with IHOP around 2002 to 2003. He described the contact as 'consensual sexual contact that involved her touching me but not me touching her,'" McNamara noted. "He said they both agreed it was wrong and the conduct stopped. MB's account and the account of the individual are very similar, including that it occurred in 2002 to 2003, and I find the individual's account credible."
While Bickle never touched the second Jane Doe in McNamara’s report, Woods said he did touch her.
“He did touch me,” she recalled. “He moved my hand to touch him sexually. And he did touch me in return.”
Woods explained that Bickle would be remorseful each time he abused her.
“I have witnessed him genuinely weep and repent, like ask the Lord’s forgiveness, ask my forgiveness,” she said. “I saw at 14, a man in anguish over failure, and he would always be like, ‘I can’t, we can’t do this again. And please forgive me.’ I believed all of that to be genuine … but it didn’t stop. We’d do good for a while and then crash.”
A day after the Star’s story was published, IHOPKC condemned Bickle’s actions as “sick” and apologized for the manner in which they handled the investigation into allegations of abuse against him which have long been criticized by Tchividjian and a group of former leaders at IHOPKC known as the advocate group.
“Words cannot express the anger, shock, heartbreak, and sadness we have experienced as we have learned of allegations and testimonies of sexual abuse and manipulation concerning Mike Bickle, founder of IHOPKC,” IHOPKC said in a statement on X last Thursday.
“We believe that Mike Bickle sexually abused and manipulated Jane Doe and Tammy Woods, who was a minor at the time. His predatory and abusive actions are sick and violate the Word of God, the marriage covenant, and holiness; we condemn them in their entirety.”
The leaders of the 24/7 prayer ministry apologized for allowing Bickle to preach at IHOPKC’s Forerunner Church on Oct. 13 and Oct. 20 last year prior to announcing that he would step aside as they investigated allegations of abuse against him.
“In hindsight, we realize that Mike’s two Friday night messages on October 13th and 20th were manipulative attempts to construct a narrative of innocence concerning himself. We deeply regret allowing him on the platform, and we acknowledge and apologize for the pain and confusion this caused.
“Additionally, our staff meeting on October 27th lacked the necessary disclosure and candor to meet the gravity of the situation. For this, we also apologize. Many in our community have been pained by our communications regarding these allegations,” the ministry continued. “We are sorry we fell short in this area and left you feeling unseen, unheard, and unappreciated. We thank you for your patience and perseverance in spite of our shortcomings.”
Members of the advocate group, identified as Dean and Jeanie Briggs; Fran and John Chisholm; Jono and Shari Hall; Elizabeth and Peter Herder; Allen and Rachel Hood; Samuel Hood; Amanda and Wes Martin; and Dwayne and Jennifer Roberts, appeared to go on the offensive in defense of their campaign to hold Bickle accountable last month for his alleged abuse after five of eight Jane Does they claimed were victims publicly denied the allegations.
Reacting to the new allegations against Bickle on Monday, Dwayne Roberts said in a statement on X that Bickle’s “sin must be fully exposed.”
“Mike Bickle's sin must be fully exposed, and a definitive statement is required so that those who have spent time at @ihopkc or listened to his teaching will know who he is. THEN, we can begin to unpack what happened, what he has done, what devastation he has brought to women specifically, and also to the Body of Christ,” Roberts wrote.
“In my opinion, he is a deceiver, and his tactics are still in play today, his voice and influence must be stopped. A definitive statement needs to be made with unity on who he is and what he has done. I am not sure if this is possible, but this is what I aim for,” he added.
“There has been a lie planted in the hearts of many that myself and the Advocate Group have wanted to tear down IHOPKC. This is a lie that I believe was planted by Mike Bickle. The purpose of the lie was to bring confusion and suspicion of our motives, and it continues to be a stumbling block to having Mike Bickle fully investigated.”
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