Interns discussing retirement plans and grandchildren may seem strange, but at the International House of Prayer (IHOPKC), Simeon Company interns bring decades of experience to Kansas City.
The Simeon Company is one of four IHOPKC internships, and is designed for those fifty and older who desire to give their lives more fully to prayer, worship, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, outreach, and works of justice. Our desire for all our interns is that they would gain new insights into the Lord’s beauty and live fascinated with Him, as they learn more about their identity in Christ and the Church’s destiny to partner with His heart in establishing His purposes on earth.
Asked about what interns can expect, Mike Bickle, founder of IHOPKC, answers, “We are living on the precipice of another age, when Jesus will return to establish His kingdom on earth. As believers, we are called to experience His glory and walk victoriously in the growing confrontation between the kingdoms of light and darkness that will affect every individual. The way forward is through a Word-filled, Spirit-anointed, and prayer-saturated relationship with Jesus. Our prayer for every intern is that they would learn more about Jesus and grow deeper and stronger in His love and power.”
The great need in this hour is for the first commandment to be restored to first place in our hearts. Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart. This is the first and great commandment” (Mt. 22:37–38). Another great need in our life is that we learn to walk and minister more effectively in the power of the Holy Spirit (Mt. 10:8). This happens as we intentionally set our hearts to walk out a lifestyle that includes changing how we think, by coming into greater agreement with God’s Word and simplifying our lives to spend more time with the Lord and in ministry to others.
David Hunt, 63, wasn’t aware of IHOPKC until his son, an engineering major at Oral Roberts University, came home from the 2008 Onething conference announcing he had decided to join our One Thing Internship for 18–25-year-olds. His reason? To set aside a focused season to seek the Lord’s face, receive Bible training, and encounter Jesus in new and deeper ways.
During the summer of 2009, David and his wife, Christine, ventured from Iowa to Kansas City to visit their son. Within minutes of arriving at our weekly Encounter God Service, David began to encounter the presence of the heavenly Father.
“I cried out, ‘God still loves me!’ because I hadn’t felt His presence in ten years. I was in love with Jesus again. When we thought about where we wanted to live when we retired, Kansas City was the only choice for us,” he said.
In 2014, four weeks after David retired from a career in advertising, the two were in Kansas City for the first three-month track of the Simeon Company internship. David experienced “an amazing bond” among the Simeon and Intro to IHOPKC interns, forging new friendships with people with similar values.
People of all ages, including families, take part in Intro to IHOPKC; Fire in the Night is for interns who desire to minister to the Lord during the night alongside our NightWatch team.
All four internships are three or six months long, accommodate all seasons of life, and share the same goals and central training components. Their purpose is to further prepare individuals of all ages as intercessors, worshipers, messengers, singers, and musicians for the growing worship, prayer, and missions movement through the nations of the earth.
As the Hunts engage in various ministry opportunities at IHOPKC, they agree that despite various personal challenges, their experience as interns was “a dream fulfilled.” To anyone contemplating a Simeon internship, they would say: what better could you do with the next years of your life than to pursue the Lord and sow into the lives of all the young people at our missions base?
