excerpt from Jackson County Advocate
Twenty-four hours a day, every single day of the year, the former Terrace Lake strip-mall off Red Bridge Road in South Kansas City is buzzing with activity. The parking lot is packed with license plates from across the country, and faces from around the world hurry to get inside.
A few enter the Forerunner Book Store-also a publishing company-to purchase books, CDs, t-shirts or even ear plugs.
Some enter the Higher Grounds coffee shop, where hip-looking young adults and teenagers sip coffee and chat with one another from behind their laptops. Others engage in excited conversation while watching live music performances on flat-screen televisions mounted in the corners of the café. A few adults are scattered throughout the trendy café-lawyers, nurses, business people-even the former City Administrator from Raytown.
But most scramble into the main entrance of the strip-mall, leading to what looks like a small concert hall. A rock band-the one being broadcast in the café-performs loud, rolling rhythms, while the lyrics of each song scroll on TV sets throughout the room like a large karaoke party. Hundreds of fans wave their arms in the air and sing along, while video cameras capture each moment and send the performance live to computers and televisions throughout the world.
The sights seem typical for a college campus. It isn’t until you stop and listen that you realize this is something far different.
In the coffee shop, there is talk of fasting for the Bridegroom.
The CDs in the book store are volumes of teachings about the End Times.
And the rock band is praising Jesus and his return, while the fans sway in a continuous state of prayer.
This is indeed a campus, but these aren’t college students. This is the International House of Prayer-Kansas City (IHOP-KC), a training ground for thousands of missionaries who believe they can play an active role in preparing for, and ushering in, the second coming of Christ.
This is an excerpt. To read the full article, click here.
