The Marcum Family/Ministry News

- September 2014 -

Dear Friends & Family,
As we write to you this month we are in the midst of a celebration weekend here at IHOPKC! This is our
15
th
anniversary weekend, and we celebrate the faithfulness of God. He has sustained us here in Kansas
City for 15 years, and the fire of prayer & worship has not gone out! We have not stopped the music,
singing, worship and prayers even for one minute Why? Because JESUS IS WORTHY!

Hope City & the Power of Prayer

Located in one of Kansas Citys toughest neighborhoods, IHOPKCs inner city
ministry Hope City is involved in rescuing addicts, sheltering the homeless,
providing a safe place for rehabilitation, running a walk-in soup kitchen and food
distribution project to the neighborhood, providing showers and laundry services for
the homeless, and running a prayer room for ten hours a day. Recently, we were at
Hope City helping to staff their prayer room on a Wednesday morning during the
height of the unrest & rioting in Ferguson, Missouri. It is a very racially integrated
team at Hope City, and those we minister to there are as well. The director, Lisa Stribling, led us in a time of
discussion about what was going on in Ferguson prior to our prayer set at 10 a.m., and she invited all of us to pray
during the set for peace in Ferguson. The prayer set was truly powerful and everyone sensed the help of the Holy
Spirit as we cried out for this city just across the state from us, that God would bring peace and an end to the riots.
When I got up the next morning, I read some morning news and was amazed and so thankful to see the Lord already
responding to our prayers (and those of so many others)! Heres an excerpt from the news story I read entitled
Dramatic Change in Ferguson Protests on Thursday, Aug 21:
FERGUSON, Missouri (CNN) Tear gas mist had filled Ellison Drive on many
nights, stinging their eyes and noses and sending them running indoors. But by
early Thursday, all was quiet in Ferguson by night. For the first time since Michael
Brown was fatally shot, streets emptied out. Protest crowds thinned down the
evening before from hundreds to dozens then disappeared. Wednesday was so
peaceful, that state troopers had time to go buy a basketball for neighborhood
youth and a net for their goal, which they installed, Missouri State Highway Patrol
Capt. Ron Johnson told reporters. Before he spoke, a chaplain prayed, thanking
God for a better than all the nights weve had before.


Brand new assignments!

In July we were approached by our good friends here, Randy & Velvet Randolph, and asked to pray about becoming
Friendship Group leaders with them. Most of you know that Melissa and I love small group ministry and building
relationships, and that is what these groups are about. So, on August 6
th
we officially became group leaders at Forerunner
Christian Fellowship along with the Randolphs, and we have been truly enjoying getting to know the people whove joined
the group (and weve enjoyed being with the Dixons again, our long-time friends!).

Then. Just shortly after beginning our Friendship Group at FCF, I received an email asking if Melissa and I would
consider leading a Discipleship Group of IHOPU students this semester! Ever since coming to International House of
Prayer, I have felt the Lord would open doors for us to minister into the lives of the students at IHOPU. So, Melissa and I
have said yes to becoming group leaders at IHOPU as well. We have a group of 11 students and were meeting weekly
for fellowship, friendship, and discipleship. Our group is made up of 3
rd
& 4
th
year students who are all a part of the House
of Prayer Leadership track. We also have two extern students in our group in addition to the 11 students on campus
one of our externs is at the Fredericksburg Prayer Furnace in Fredericksburg, VA (www.theprayerfurnace.org), and the
other one is at the Tauranga House of Prayer in Tauranga, New Zealand (www.thop.co.nz)! We are very excited & blessed
to get to lead this group of young people and pour into the lives of these future leaders in the House of Prayer.

Prayer room at Hope City
Jim & Melissa Marcum
P.O. Box 1099, Grandview, MO 64030
Phone/text: 816-287-3525 / 816-287-2228
Email/PayPal: intercessorymissions@gmail.com

International House of Prayer Kansas City, MO

Melissas Report: Safe Families Continues to Grow!

Its been another busy month at Safe Families for Children. We are cur-
rently helping with the care of 10 children in 6 different homes. This
care includes the work of host home families, family coaches, family
friends, resource providers, medical personnel, and supervisors. An ex-
citing new development is the possibility of working with Mid-America
Nazarene University in their play therapy program. This would give us
the opportunity to offer therapy to some of the little ones we work with who are dealing with anxiety, stress and loss because
of their family crises. I was able to tour the facility this past week and it is a beautiful place with lots of potential and a very
affordable sliding-scale payment program.

We are also in process of trying to help 5 young moms with little ones as they are in need of housing themselves. This seems
to be a growing need, and we have begun strategy meetings with Exodus Cry (ministry to victims of human trafficking) to
talk about building our base of host families that are willing to take in a mom and child. Part of the planning is to work on
training those host families to be ready to deal with some of the issues that they might face as they open their homes and
hearts to help the broken and wounded that are being rescued from sex trafficking.

Speaking of training, we are enjoying a new experience as we participate in the IHOPU Externship Program. As students
enter their 4
th
year of training at IHOPU, they make a decision about how/where they want to spend the next season of their
life after graduation. Part of this decision includes choosing a place to serve in their chosen field of work/missions. Of
course, some of those places are overseas, or in numerous Houses of Prayer across the US, but this year we have 5 externs
that have chosen to work in the field of Justice for the Fatherless. They are participating with the Orphan Justice Center staff
in many hours of service dedicated to helping the fatherless in the KC area. This includes many hours of prayer in the
Global Prayer Room, evenings at the area residential facilities building relationship with the children there to show the love
of Jesus, serving the families in our community that are adopting orphans, and also a new course of training that we are
offering every Friday afternoon at IHOPU. This training introduces the plight of the fatherless in the nation and our state,
the brokenness of children who have been abandoned through death, abuse or neglect, and the hope that we have as
Christians to bring healing through Jesus to these children. All of the staff of OJC and SFFC are attending the training this
semester, and we are planning to open it up to the community next semester as we expand our work with IHOPU and also
start our own Internship Program. I have personally been very blessed by the classes, and Im looking forward to the rest of
the semester!

PRAYER REQUESTS: Please pray for us as we are in transition of leadership at OJC and SFFC. Also, pray that we can
continue to build our community of host families to answer the growing need. And pray specifically for the right people to
be raised up to fill 6 new positions in the SFFC staff. We are continuing to grow!

Lives Changed at The Womens Clinic!

One of my favorite people on our Life Initiatives team at IHOPKC is Betty. She is an
amazing prayer warrior, and in addition to being a nurse working at a local nursing home,
she is a wonderfully gifted front line counselor (advocate) at The Womens Clinic in
Grandview. I (Jim) go weekly to The Womens Clinic on Monday mornings and help lead
a prayer meeting there. Here is a great testimony Betty gave us recently:

Hi Team! I wanted to share an amazing testimony with you. While I was at work [at the nursing home] this weekend,
I was working with a new nurse. She said that I looked familiar to her and wanted to know if I worked at a hospital. I
told her that I didnt, but I did volunteer at a womens clinic. She said that is where she remembered me from! Quite
some time ago she had come into the clinic. She had been abortion-minded and she said that I had talked with her and
she changed her mind. She had been concerned about finishing nursing school. She not only completed nursing
school, but she also has a year-old baby girl!!! I could see how the angels celebrate a new salvation with such joy.
What a treasure from God!! We give Him all the glory. Thank you so much for standing with us in prayer. - Betty

FINAL WORD: Until next time, thank you all for your love, prayer, and support! Keep in touch, were praying for you.

Because He is worthy of it all,


Jim & Melissa Marcum & family