“IHOP did not know what Deaton was doing,” said Ed Novak, a lawyer who is representing the church, adding, “That group that he organized and was working with, IHOP has no knowledge of, no oversight over and no participation in.”

Image Bethany and Tyler Deaton.

But in the surrounding community, the killing has renewed debate about the church — which has acquired an increasing number of properties in Grandview and neighboring areas — and discussion about the line between religion and cult. Some critics have expressed concern that the church’s teachings, which emphasize charismatic beliefs like the power of prophecy, miracles and preparation for the end times, may create an atmosphere that allows the emergence of practices like those attributed to Mr. Deaton and his followers.

Keith Gibson, an evangelical pastor and author of “Wandering Stars,” a book that is critical of the church’s doctrines, said that he does not regard the International House of Prayer or its leaders as sinister. “But it would seem that the structures to correct abuses are not strongly in place,” he said, and that the emphasis on prophecy “leaves their followers without a grid to judge other people claiming to be prophets who might be more sinister in their methods.”

For Ms. Deaton, religion formed a central core of her life. She and others followed Mr. Deaton to Kansas City after graduating from Southwestern University, a small Methodist liberal arts college in Georgetown, Tex., in 2009. The couple married in August.

Kate Farlow, Ms. Deaton’s supervisor at Menorah Medical Center in Overland Park, Kan., where she worked with cardiology patients, described her as “a gifted young woman,” whose “beautiful big blue eyes” would light up when she talked about her faith or about her goal of becoming a missionary overseas.

“She was very spiritual and very inspiring in the way she loved talking to patients,” Ms. Farlow said.