The Marcum Family/Ministry News

August 2016

Dear Friends & Family,

We hope you all have had a blessed summer. August marks the end of our many summer youth & childrens camps, but
we will be welcoming IHOPU students to campus next week! Internships are beginning a new 3-month or 6-month term, and
many new faces will be arriving ready to learn and experience and grow in the life of prayer. It is so fulfilling having been
here at IHOPKC nearly four years now, to see the seasons and cycles of the ministries we have here at the Missions Base.
People come from around the world, spend a season here, and then go out pursue what the Lord has called them to. Many
will reach and transform families, cities, and nations. It is amazing and humbling to see and be a part of what the Lord does!
This month in our newsletter, we want to share about the development of a ministry weve been part of the past 3 years here
at IHOPKC and some new direction and doors we see the Lord opening. Love, The Marcums

Taking the message of LIFE

to the local church
On Sunday morning, August 7, we accompanied the new directors
of our Life Team, Denny & Mindy Thybault, to Grace Point Church
in South Kansas City to share a message of LIFE with the church
family there. Three years ago when we joined the Life Team at
IHOPKC, we had a vision of going to local congregations,
ministering about LIFE and not only calling them to actively get
involved in pro-life ministries but equipping the saints in this area of
ministry. We prayed into it many times, and had a couple contacts
with local pastors in KC, but doors just didnt seem to open. Then, a
few months ago when Denny & Mindy came to lead our team, we learned that this was not only a big part of their
vision and calling, but they had already been doing it! The Lord had been using them for the past 6 years to bring
awakening & hope into many local churches and to impart a spirit of adoption to the people of God.
In the late 90s Denny & Mindy went through a refocusing season with the Lord, where much was being stripped
away they lost their family business and their home, and their life was turned upside down. In this same season,
they began to have people tell them, God is getting you ready for something, for a ministry He has for you. In
2005, the Lord challenged Denny to return to His first love, and Denny made a covenant with the Lord to spend 1
to 3 hours a day in the morning before anything else, just praying and seeking the Lord. Sometimes those times
would go 3 or 4 hours, or even all day long! This was a marker in his life that shifted everything. About two years
later, the Lord drew them out of the box for a season, out of the traditional church stream, and they began a home
fellowship in their home and ministered to many, many people (this so resonates with us!). The Lord told them He
was going to take religion out of them and do a deep work in their hearts.
In 2009, While Denny & Mindy were watching the 10th anniversary celebration of IHOPKC, being streamed online,
the Lord spoke to them in a specific way about orphans and their hearts moved inside of them as never before. They
literally experienced the fulfillment of Malachi 4:6! For three days, the Lord whispered in Dennys ear,
Adoptionadoption He finally talked to Mindy, and she was amazed as she told him, Ive been hearing the
same thing. They were in their 40s and had just finished raising their 3 children they had been empty-nesters
for only 3 months. On October 22, 2009, they completed their application with an adoption agency, and exactly nine
months later, on July 22, 2010 their adoptive daughter was born Liran Justice.
Not long after her birth, Denny had brought Leiran into his morning times in prayer & Bible study with the Lord and
was feeling somewhat apologetic that He wasnt giving the Lord his full attention. But the Lord corrected him and
said, Denny you have gone from the study of my word to the doing of my word. He said, Denny, I would move
heaven and earth to get one of my little fatherless ones into a loving home. When you feed Leiran, you are feeding
Me when you take care of her, youre taking care of Me. Denny remembered Matthew 25, James 1:27, and many
other Scriptures as he began to feel in an even deeper way the Lords heart feels for the fatherless and orphans.

But their journey was not over yet. Six months later, they called the adoption agency to say they wanted to begin the
process to adopt again the following year. The lady there who had helped them before said, Interesting you should
call right now. We have twin girls, still in the womb, one of whom will need open-heart surgery. We have contacted
everyone and no one wants them would you consider adopting them? They said Yes to the Lord, and Yes to the
woman at the agency, and 24 hours later they were approved to adopt the twins. Three weeks later, on February 4,
2011, Chaya and Ayala were born premature 4 lbs 7 oz and 4 lb 12 oz. Chaya spent the first 7 weeks in the hospital,
had open-heart surgery, and recovered fully! Now Denny & Mindy had a 7-month-old and two newborns, and the
Lord was stirring their hearts so deeply about the orphans and the awakening He desired to bring to His church.
A year-and-a-half later, the Lord spoke to Denny that He wanted him to close his
business and begin a ministry going to pastors and churches to share their story and
impart a spirit of adoption. He would meet with pastors and they would weep in
their offices. In 2013, Denny & Mindy were booked almost every Sunday of the
year in different churches and denominations, releasing this message of caring for the
orphan and fatherless. As Denny finished sharing at Grace Point, we saw many
wiping away tears. Denny said, Who will say Yes to the Lord this morning and join
His heart in caring for the fatherless and orphans, whether taking them into your
homes, or helping others whom the Lord will use to take in orphans? After Denny
Denny & Mindy with Pastor
prayed over the people, the pastor of the church came before the congregation. He
Athol from Grace Point.
and his wife have already adopted two children. He told the congregation, We want
you, our church family, to know this morning, we have prayed about it and the Lord is moving our hearts we are
going to adopt again! A young couple came up to Denny & Mindy later in the morning and with tears told them,
We said Yes to the Lord today, we are going to adopt.

40
Isaiah

Isaiah 40 Initiatives
We have recently changed the name of our ministry team from Life Initiatives to
Isaiah 40 Initiatives. The Lord is expanding and developing our vision, and telling
us to be a voice crying out for the unborn and for the orphans. We are so thankful
the Lord brought Denny & Mindy from Michigan to IHOPKC, and led them to
become the new directors of our team.

Many of you know that Melissa has been serving with the Orphan Justice Center ministry, particularly as a part of Safe
Families for Children. She has transitioned now to work with Isaiah 40 Initiatives to allow the Lord to use her to grow
and develop the vision we have of not just rescuing the unborn, but releasing the spirit of adoption and Malachi 4:6 to
the church in this hour. We (Jim & Melissa) will be part of launching a new Isaiah 40 Life Group that will be
gathering weekly to seek together the Fathers heart through His Word.
Our I-40 team will also be holding regular Call to Action Fellowships on the Missions Base. These will be
meetings where people can come to learn more about Isaiah 40 Initiatives, and will cover topics such as: adoption, the
Fathers heart, womb education, the plight of the unborn, and more. We will also be partnering with Zoes House
Adoption Agency to host adoption dinner parties to educate families on the process of adoption. Our team will
continue to hold LIFE Stands (sidewalk prayer vigils) on Friday & Saturday mornings at Planned Parenthood,
worshiping & praying for the breaking of the stronghold of abortion in Kansas City, the nation, and the world.
There are 50 million abortions in the world each year all are children who need not just saved from death, but so many
need adoptive homes where they will be raised to know and love Jesus. There are an estimated 150 million orphans
throughout the world who have thankfully been spared from death and given the gift of life. But they havent yet been
given the gift of a loving home and family. These two issues the unborn and the orphan are so related in the Lords
heart. We believe that a movement has begun, and the Lord is conquering the spirit of death and abandonment with the
spirit of life and adoption!

FINAL WORD: Until next time, our thanks & love to each of you your love & support mean so much. Blessings!
Because He is worthy of it all,

Jim & Melissa

Jim & Melissa Marcum & family

Jim & Melissa Marcum

P.O. Box 1099, Grandview, MO 64030
Phone/text: 816-287-3525 / 816-287-2228
Email/PayPal: intercessorymissions@gmail.com
Egiving:www.ihopkc.org/give/staffsupport (JM204009)
International House of Prayer Kansas City, MO