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The fragmented congregation of Mt Tabor Church was reminded to trust in God through the pain at its first Sunday service since Rickeno Moncur resigned as senior pastor of the mega-church in the Bahamas.

“In every separation, there are casualties of war. In every separation there is pain. But don’t make a permanent decision on a temporary situation,” Bishop Delton Ellis, brother of Founder Neil Ellis cautioned the congregation.

After 34 years of preaching, Ellis handed the church over to Moncur last year, but his reign as senior pastor did not last long and seemed to have been mired in controversy as revealed in Moncur’s resignation announced by video on Friday.

Service was noticeably different as Delton preached. The seats seemed sparse and occasional sounds of “hallelujah” littered the church as congregants listened attentively to the preached word.

“Bishop Ellis has been my brother before and he will remain my brother after,” Delton boldly stated as Ellis’ wife and children sat in the first pew.

“I stand in the gap to carry this family through.”

“Lift your head up, strengthen your feeble knees,” he told Bishop Ellis who sat stoically. “The devil desires to sift you like wheat, but we pray that your strength will remain.”

Pastor Kenneth Romer did not hesitate to discuss the matter, reminding the congregation to be grateful for Moncur’s service to the church. “Pastor Moncur has blessed my life [and] this ministry. We are not an ungrateful church,” to which the congregation, including Bishop Ellis stood in applause.

Moncur served as the pastor for one year before his immediate resignation.

On Saturday Mt Tabor issued a response, stating that it was unaware of Moncur’s decision before the video was released but assured followers that the service would be held at its regular times on Sunday.

“We wish him all the best.”

Bishop Ellis told ZNS that he awaits the decision of the board but has no plans to pastor the church.

The church will hold a general membership meeting on January 29.

Following weeks of speculations, Pastor Dario Carey indicated that he is no longer the incoming pastor of Mt Tabor though he was promised the position by Senior Pastor Neil Ellis.

Pastor Carey took to social media in a video post titled, The Transition and the Truth About It, addressing the lingering speculations while revealing that the position was rescinded through verbal communication, but he was not given a letter to confirm the revocation as pastor.

Carey revealed that he was advised not to speak on the matter using his social media platform, but he took to Facebook anyway, in a live post to shed light on the situation as God directed him to do so.

“I have a right to speak because I’m a servant of God. I decree as God declares and I decree according to the word of God. So, I don’t need consensus just for those people who are asking tonight, ‘who gave you the authority to speak?’ God gives the authority for me to speak tonight.”

He continued, “I’m not a weak man. I’m very strong in the Lord and in the power of his might…”

Carey moved from New Orleans to be appointed to Mt Tabor’s top spot in the Bahamas, with his wife and two children, since Ellis, 61 who is the presiding Bishop of the Global United Fellowship of Churches, promised to step down from the church.

Though no official statement from the church, reports cited that Ellis was wavering in his decision to make Carey the senior pastor, attributing his uncertainty to God.

But Carey said, “God is not psych phrenic. God is not a God of confusion. God is not a God that lies.”

The road to Carey’s appointment began three years ago. He was ratified on October 5th and joined the staff at Mt Tabor in January of this year, in preparation to take charge in January 2023.

Carey said Ellis met with his immediate and extended family and the company where he worked as the general manager. “He did a character assessment and came up with none. I went through the scrutiny..No skeletons in my closet. No scandals,” he passionately expressed.

The young pastor said he paid for everything he needed for the transition to the Bahamas and sold his belongings which included house furniture and his vehicle, having shipped his belongings to the Bahamas.

Carey and his wife Dionne recently enrolled their children at St John’s College in Nassau.

“I may have been gutted but I trust God. You may push me to the side but the hand of the Lord caught me….God is my source.”

Carey said despite the situation, he will remain in the Bahamas.

“I’m here to stay.”

It remains to be seen who Mt Tabor will appoint to replace Carey.

Following the relocation of Mt Tabor’s incoming senior pastor from the United States, rumors are swirling that Bishop Neil Ellis has reneged on his promises to give Dario Carey the top spot.

Pastor Carey, with his wife and two children, moved from New Orleans this year to lead the megachurch as Ellis, 61 promised to step down from the post. But reports are that Ellis, who served 34 years as senior pastor, has since refused to give up the office, citing that God told him not to do so, anymore.

Ellis told the Nassau Guardian last year that while on ‘sabbatical’ in 2012, God told him to serve ten more years as a pastor and then retire from the post.  He was expected to retire at the end of this year to allow Carey to assume the post. Carey was expected to lead the congregation in January 2023. He already joined the staff six months ago, in preparation to take charge.

“So he (Carey) will work for me for the full year. He will take over in January 2023,” Ellis said last year. Ellis was expected to remain the head of the Global United Fellowship of churches, stating that he would serve Carey.

“I am still sought after for conferences and special church events. I am stepping down from the top spot of the church, but I am not retiring from active duty. A lot of this would have to do and depend upon what the new pastor would require of me once in place – how much of me he would need or want. I want to make myself available to him.”

Ellis recently introduced Carey’s wife, Dionne and children to the church, announcing that they had recently been enrolled as students at St John’s College as their father prepared to take the leadership of Mt Tabor. He prided that the process to make Carey the senior pastor was “slow, intentional, careful and prayerful, and it paid off” after a three-year search.

Signs, announcing the transition, were strategically placed on street corners. Carey was celebrated as Ellis’ successor, who was Bahamian-born and served seven years as the pastor of Solid Rock Missionary Baptist Church in New Orleans, Louisiana.

“He [Carey] met the Lord in Mount Tabor,” said Ellis. “When he first visited us as a teenager, he was living in the Ranfurly Homes [for children]. He met the Lord at Mount Tabor and was among a group of people that we sent to seminary. Four of the six came back. All worked at the church, but [Carey] and one more person never returned to The Bahamas to stay. He met his wife there – they built a family and he landed two wonderful jobs that led him to managerial positions. Eight years ago, he was called to a church in New Orleans,” Ellis said.