Intercessor | Worshiper | Teacher

Hello, there! My name is Josaphat Chambers, but a lot of folks call me J.D., and then they type it out as JD. I’ve grown up oversees my whole life until I was 23 when I moved to Kansas City to serve the Lord at the International House of Prayer Kansas City. A lot has happened to get me to move here, and a lot has transpired in my last 12 years of service at IHOPKC; I’m happy to say, that the Lord has been perfect in His leadership over me. Here’s a little bit of my journey!

||Pre-IHOPKC||

At five-years-old, our pastor’s daughter told me that in order to play the piano I had to take lessons. So, on an Air Force base in Okinawa, Japan, I started learning to play the piano. I kept this up even as our family was moved to Anchorage, Alaska.

As the years went by, I played for our Assemblies of God Children’s Church, started leading worship for our Youth Group. And as I grew as a classical pianist and artist by attending Fine Arts festivals throughout my high school career, I learned that I loved worshiping the Lord through music and the arts. So during college I conitnued leading worship, and training up singers, musicians and worship leaders.

Year-after-year I grew more in love with Jesus. I was always a nightowl, so much so that if I wasn’t already awake practicing or doing homework, I’d wake up from a 2-3 hour nap and go to the piano and then find myself singing worship songs to the Lord. I just enjoyed the stillness of the night, and the freedom to not perform for anyone, because [I thought] no one could hear me.

In my senior year at university, a friend needed help with an audition for some Christian music school in Missouri that taught people how to be prophetic musicians and singers. “You should think about going,” my friend said. I nearly laughed in her face and said, “No. I’ve got 4 years of excellent music training under me at this point. I don’t think I need that.” I truly meant that, but something else at the back of my brain, perhaps the Holy Spirit, kept prodding me to at least look into it.

So as I applied to grad schools, I also applied to IHOPKC’s 3-month internship Fire in the Night to “maybe give 3 months of my music life to God.” I got accepted into the internship in the Fall of 2009 and it was nothing like I thought it would be. Instead of music training, it was learning to love the Word of God, to enjoy prayer, to see the value in intercession, and to walk out that relationship with Him by loving others.

The program was life-changing. I didn’t know there were people who were hungry for the Lord in the same way I was! I didn’t know there was a place where we could linger in the God’s presence and be transformed in our hearts and minds, a place where excellent musicianship was an act of worship to God… And I learned that I could make this my life!

|| Moving to IHOPKC ||

In 2011, I packed up my Subaru and drove down to Kansas City, MO to finish the 2nd 3-month set of onboarding to for IHOPKC. In between my internships from 2009-2011, I helped establish a prayer room in Anchorage, I served at my local AG church in the youth and adult services, I worked as a teacher and a retail driver; and I kept up the practice of prayer and loving others. My heart loved the people around me, but, I longed to be back at IHOPKC.

I started reading the Bible in 90 days with my church and when I got to the separation of the Levites, my heart was stirred that they got to minister before the Lord. Then when David set up the tabernacle and set aside musicians and singers to minsiter to God, my heart was stirred again. “Oh! I’d be so jealous if I was alive back then and couldn’t meet with God because I wasn’t one of the chosen family members. Thank You, Lord, we can all minister to You!”

This conversation with the Lord really established in my heart the value of being a priest to God, and the opportunity the Lord had set before me to do it. He never asked me to go. In the end, I asked Him to go. It was my choice. And I’m glad I chose it.

|| IHOPKC now… ||

Coming back to IHOPKC, I was really confronted with a lot of unmet expectations. I had so many in regards to what kinds of friendships I’d have, romantic relationships I would establish, ministry positions I’d have, etc. But, again, the kindness of the Lord showed up. A family-friend heard from my mom that I moved to IHOPKC, and she called me to hear about what I was doing. When I told her, I joined the NightWatch to pray and worship the Lord, she exclaimed, “This fits you perfectly!” And she recounted the many times my mom would tell her that I was up in the middle of the night, playing and singing. [I guess the whole house heard me…]

I agreed with her: my life and history in God has developed me so that there are certain things I feel built for. So, as I looked at IHOPKC and got involved, I realized it fits me because:

1. I get to worship with people who are like me in their commitment to
meditate on the Bible;
submit through obedience to the Word of God in scriptures;
love others as Christ loved them;
and “play skillfully to the Lord.”
2. I get to disciple younger men in loving the Word, and enjoying intimacy with God;
helping them discover their true masculinity.
and
3. I get to do all of this in the middle of the night!

The years at IHOPKC have proven this to be true; I didn’t come because of any personality, or grand vision to be or do something great. I didn’t come because of prophetic promises to this ministry. I came because I found a place that made sense of how the Lord made me, and He presented it to me. In short, I came for Him.

In my 12 years of ministry at IHOPKC the Lord has made ways for me in so many different areas. I’ve grown in wisdom, and in godly character. I’ve grown to love people through intercession in private (prayer) and through public intercession (acts of service). He’s provided above and beyond financially. He’s allowed to me to minister to people in public and private schools as a substitute/teacher. He’s allowing me now to love and minister to people I play hockey with and perform on stage with in theatrical productions.

I have now been serving on the NightWatch at IHOPKC as an Associate Section Leader, giving pastoral support to our members of the NightWatch, the people who choose to serve between the hours of 12am-6am, six nights a week in worship and intercession. I recently took on the role of worship leader to help give security to teams whose worship leaders have moved on for various reasons.

|| …and the future… ||

We have had a very hard year since October 2023. I feel the Lord has asked me to continue on the NightWatch and at IHOPKC to help bring stability, foster necessary changes to the ministry, and to see a community of believers fight to love each other the way Christ has loved us. If the Lord were to move me away from IHOPKC, I’m confident He will move me into something that fits me: a place where I can love Him and serve Him; and disciple others to love Him, too.

Your partnership with me will ensure that I can do this full-time, with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength. Thank you for reading my story, and for standing with me in ministry.

To God be the glory!