Justice House of Prayer (JHOP) is a

neocharismatic The Neo-charismatic (also third-wave charismatic or hypercharismatic) movement is a movement within evangelical Protestant Christianity that is composed of a diverse range of independent churches and organizations that emphasize the post-biblical ...

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

organization based in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

that focuses on

continual prayer Perpetual prayer (Latin: ''laus perennis'') is the Christian practice of continuous prayer carried out by a group. History The practice of perpetual prayer was inaugurated by the archimandrite Alexander (died about 430), the founder of the monast ...

. It was founded by Lou Engle in 2004 and now has locations in five

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

cities. They are in close association with the International House of Prayer-Kansas City and TheCall.

Practices

Initially founded in

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

to focus on prayer for the

2004 United States presidential election The 2004 United States presidential election was the 55th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. The Republican ticket of incumbent President George W. Bush and his running mate incumbent Vice President Dick Chene ...

, Engle credits a series of dreams and

visions Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain un ...

with inspiring him to start a house of prayer in Washington D.C. They choose to operate in locations that are considered religiously or

politically Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

liberal, rather than in more

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

parts of the country. JHOP organizers attempt to locate their buildings near areas that they deem to be spiritually significant, such as the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. Each location is staffed by a number of interns, also sometimes referred to as "prayer activists," who devote their time to bible study, prayer, and public demonstrations against

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

. They often stand outside of courthouses with their mouths taped shut with red tape that has the word "Life" written on it. Their silent protests are designed to represent the silence of the unborn and what they perceive to be the silence of the American church regarding the issue of abortion. JHOP members also lead prayer meetings in front of abortion clinics, and the San Diego branch attempted to pray in front of every abortion clinic in California in 2008. Some locations also practice

Street Preaching Open-air preaching, street preaching, or public preaching is the act of evangelizing a religious faith in public places. It is an ancient method of proselytizing a religious or social message and has been used by many cultures and religious tradit ...

. Each location hosts regular prayer gatherings featuring harp and bowl worship, as well. They occasionally host teams of staff members from IHOP-Kansas City for prayer or

evangelism In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...

initiatives. They have also raised money for children in need.

Beliefs

JHOP focuses on prayer for issues such as abortion,

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

, and

humanism Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

. JHOP members often attempt to spend long hours in focused prayer for these causes, sometimes praying all night. Members also regularly practice

fasting Fasting is the abstention from eating and sometimes drinking. From a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see " Breakfast"), or to the metabolic state achieved after ...

, occasionally for 40 consecutive days. Neocharismatic in

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, JHOP members often interpret dreams,

speak in tongues Speaking in tongues, also known as glossolalia, is a practice in which people utter words or speech-like sounds, often thought by believers to be languages unknown to the speaker. One definition used by linguists is the fluid vocalizing of sp ...

, and claim to have occasional visions.

Controversy

In 2006, a writer for the Boston

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

newspaper

Bay Windows A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room. Types Bay window is a generic term for all protruding window constructions, regardless of whether they are curved or angular, or r ...

accused JHOP of bigotry against the gay community, citing their practice of praying that same-sex marriage would not be legalized. In 2008, a group of Christians regularly met for prayer meetings on a street in the

Castro District The Castro District, commonly referred to as the Castro, is a neighborhood in Eureka Valley in San Francisco. The Castro was one of the first gay neighborhoods in the United States. Having transformed from a working-class neighborhood throug ...

, a largely gay neighborhood of San Francisco. In November 2008, shortly after

California Proposition 8 Proposition 8, known informally as Prop 8, was a California ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment intended to ban same-sex marriage; it passed in the November 2008 California state elections and was later overturned in co ...

was passed, they were so endangered, the group had to be escorted out of the Castro District under the protection of the San Francisco Police Department

riot police Riot police are police who are organized, deployed, trained or equipped to confront crowds, protests or riots. Riot police may be regular police who act in the role of riot police in particular situations or they may be separate units organize ...

after being surrounded by a threatening crowd drawn from nearby bars. Initial media reports did not identify the affiliation of the group, although the Justice House of Prayer later claimed that members of their

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

location were the group in question.

References

External links

Nightline report on JHOPJHOP The Hague International City of Justice and Peace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Justice House Of Prayer Charismatic denominations Organizations based in Kansas City, Missouri Anti-abortion organizations in the United States Charismatic and Pentecostal organizations