‘I was hurting for one year’: Pastor Rickeno Moncur rolls on after he leaves Bishop Neil Ellis

As Mt Tabor Church begins its search for a new senior pastor, newly resigned Pastor Rickeno Moncur held his first service at Fusion Superplex.

Since his separation from Bishop Neil Ellis and the congregation of Mt Tabor just two days ago, he and a packed theater of worshippers gathered at the facility for Sunday service.

“I was hurting for one year. I had to preach through it,” he told the congregation of his plight. “I had to minister through it. I had to serve through it. And some of you didn’t even know about it because I did not make it the priority,” the apostolic preacher acknowledged.

On Friday in a surprising move, the thirty-nine-year-old preacher who was appointed by Ellis as the senior pastor of Mt Tabor last year, announced by video that he resigned because of “challenges that surround my presence.”

Moncur said it appeared as if he “created some offenses” while he served at the mega church, and after praying and reflecting, he determined it was “the end of this particular season.”

“Doing what I did was not easy,” he said on Sunday morning. “But I believe it was a God move.”

The packed audience consisted of some members of Mt Tabor’s pastoral team; some church mothers of Mt Tabor including Bishop Ellis’ mother-in-law; those who would have followed Moncur after he first closed his church Word of Life Kingdom Ministry; newly joined members of Mt Tabor; curious onlookers and some of his pastoral friends.

“I follow God. I did not do this thinking this would happen. It is not about this. I did this when I had 20, 50, 70 people. It didn’t matter to me. It was about pleasing God.

“It’s not about pomp, pageantry and platforms.”

Before Moncur’s appointment to Mt Tabor, Ellis sought to appoint US-based Bahamian Pastor Dario Carey to the top post but that fell through when Ellis reneged on his promise and suggested that God told him not to do so anymore.

Carey, his wife and children then moved back to New Orleans where he pastored Solid Rock Missionary Baptist Church, and Ellis soon appointed Moncur to the position in an official ceremony.

The fiery pastor changed the dynamic of Mt Tabor, helping to rebrand the church and increasing its membership.

All seemed well until an article written in the editorial of Tuesday’s Tribune sounded the alarm that something was amiss at the church.

By Friday, Moncur resigned.

He formerly pastored Word of Life Kingdom Ministry, which was dissolved because of the move to Mt Tabor.

It is not known if he will reuse the name as he moves forward.

The new congregation is expected to meet again next Sunday at 8 am.

“I have no plan…so give me some space. I believe God will give me the details as I go.”