religion

Nearly six weeks after resigning from Mt Tabor Church as senior pastor, Pastor Rickeno Moncur and his new congregation unveiled the name of their new church on Sunday in the ballroom of Bahamar, Revolution Church.

With standing room only, hundreds of worshippers crammed the ballroom for the church’s unveiling, with famed American worship leader Benita Washington leading the praise and worship segment.

Former Prime Minister Hubert Minnis accompanied by his wife, was spotted in the crowd.

https://fb.watch/qDrTgusyHa/

“We are here tonight to witness the birthing of a revolution of love, designed for one purpose, to give life and life abundantly,” Moncur told an exuberant crowd. “This is not just any kind of a revolution, this is a love revolution based on John 3:16: For God so love people, he gave his only begotten Son.”

Forty-year-old Moncur established Revolution Church after serving many years in ministry. He transitioned to pastoral ship at a young age, leading a small but vibrant congregation of young people at Word of Life Kingdom Church, before dissolving it to become the lead pastor at Mt Tabor.

On Sunday, he emphasized that the mandate of Revolution Church is different and people-centered.

“Jesus is saying you can’t take ministry to another dimension and do things the same way.

“Next levels attract new devils but also require different and unique strategies.

“I have been revolutionized. Church is all about God but God is all about his people. For God so love people, he gave his only begotten Son.”

The apostolic preacher has been holding church at Superplex Fusion after he left Mt Tabor unexpectedly, announcing by a video that “challenges surround[ed] my presence” at the influential church and later acknowledging he was “hurting for one year.”

“I had to preach through it,” he told the congregation of his plight one Sunday morning in its 8 am service. “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.”

Details of the challenges he encountered while serving have been sketchy, only stating that it appeared as if he “created some offences” while there. After praying and reflecting, he determined it was “the end of this particular season.”

However, Moncur has been careful to express gratitude to Bishop Ellis for the opportunity to lead the congregation at Mt Tabor.

“Doing what I did was not easy, but I believe it was a God move.”

Since the move, Revolution Church now consists 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; the newly joined members of Mt Tabor; and some new members who joined the new church after the resignation.

Moncur said he endeavours to change and improve the lives of his congregants while upsetting the status quo.

“The revolution in this church is that no one in this church, regardless of their status will go without their needs being met.

“The failure of the church in our times is that in many instances, we have deceptively sought to make the church about God and not about his people as a coverup for our selfish ambition to build up our personal kingdoms and empires where pastors and bishops live like kings while their parishioners suffer like hogs.

“We drive the best, wear the best and we live in the best. We fly all over the world, while our members can hardly pay the two-dollar bridge toll to get over Paradise Island. We eat to our heart’s content, taking the tithes from the single mothers on minimum wage but could care less if she ate or was able to pay her rent or take care of her children.”

Moncur continued, “We have no time to meet with people any more, talk with people or be among people. For too long, we have built kingdoms unto ourselves on the backs of people who were deceived into thinking this was God’s way.

“We use God to control people when in fact, being his representative, we try to be him and violate people.

“Our kingdoms are coming down so that God’s kingdom can truly be built. God is reclaiming his church, his throne and his people,” Moncur said.

Before Moncur’s appointment to Mt Tabor, Bishop Ellis sought to appoint US-based Bahamian Pastor Dario Carey as senior pastor, but Ellis reneged on his promise and suggested that God told him not to do so anymore. So, 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.

Moncur changed the dynamic at Mt Tabor, rebranding the church and increasing its membership.

Going forward, Moncur said, “We will challenge the status quo. We will challenge governments, and the unjust systems and policies, as the Holy Spirit leads.

“We are not interested in tradition, religion, selfish and hypocritical ideologies. We have no interest in self-serving, carnal, evil-driven, arrogant, pompous ministry. We are going back to God, we are going back to the Bible.

“We are going back to Jesus culture as our model and as our standard.”

Mt Tabor Church has appointed Bishop Delton Ellis as its interim pastor following a shakeup in the administrative team when Rickeno Moncur resigned after one year as senior pastor of the mega-church.

Bishop Delton the brother of the church’s founder Bishop Neil Ellis has served on the church’s pastoral team but was never up for the post as senior pastor of the church.

Since Moncur’s surprise resignation more than three weeks ago, Mt Tabor Church was without a senior pastor as the church pondered its next move.

Bishop Delton was appointed last Sunday and Kenneth Romer was appointed its First Assistant Pastor.

Bishop Delton has a level of pastoral experience, serving as Provincial leader in Neil Ellis’ global ministry, Global United Fellowship.

Mt Tabor announced it in a social media post, not before members of the church circulated the church’s quiet announcement.

Its last week broadcast ended before Neil Ellis made the announcement.

Before Moncur’s appointment, Bishop Neil Ellis sought to appoint Bahamian US-based Pastor Dario Carey to the church’s top post but that fell through when Bishop Neil 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, and Bishop Neil then appointed Moncur to the position.

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

Since he left and restarted his ministry, the membership at Mt Tabor has dropped and the church is attempting to regain its footing.

It remains to be seen how long Bishop Delton will serve as interim pastor, but it is hoped he provides the church with some stability before the church settles on its next senior pastor.

Pastor Rickeno Moncur believes a new move of God is taking place in the Bahamas as hundreds of believers who are “in love with Jesus” pack the cinema for church services, seeking forgiveness and rededicating their lives to Christ.

The second church service that began last week is now heading for the establishment of a new church since Moncur’s resignation as senior pastor of Mt Tabor.

“As we get ready to move this thing forward, I’m only prepared to lead people who are going all the way after God,” Moncur preached passionately in the 8 am service.

Thirty-nine-year-old Moncur once pastored a small church Word of Life Kingdom Ministries before he was asked to become the Senior Pastor of mega church Mt Tabor where he served for one year, following the retirement of prominent clergyman Bishop Neil Ellis.

But Moncur’s surprise resignation last week following challenges with his leadership at the church, has sent believers in a frenzy, who have come to enjoy his fiery, apostolic preaching, and many have followed him at his new venture for prayer and encouragement.

“If you want religion, if you want your name called, if you want to be seen, then this is not for you. But if you want to see Jesus, if you want to go all the way with him, then this is it.”

The response to gathering at the Fusion Superplex for prayer and worship has been beyond what Moncur expected. Just days since the start, hashtag #IchooseGod has spread on social media, a nod to one of Moncur’s latest sermons.

Believers lined the door on Sunday to get a seat in the already packed cinema with only standing room available, as ushers sought extra chairs to seat believers filing in.

Millennials and elderly church mothers make up most of the new congregation.

“God wants to do something new. Our instruction from heaven right now is solely to gather and seek him,” Moncur wrote in a social media post.

The response has prompted Moncur to establish a children’s and teen’s church to free up space in the theatre for more worshippers.

The church will launch its brand in February and is recruiting church volunteers.

Bishop Neil Ellis won’t comment on his recent church split which has gained widespread attention.

“I am not talking about that,” he told a reporter following the National Day of Prayer Service in Rawson Square on Monday night.

He was there to offer prayers for the nation and the government,  but appeared solemn.

“I’ve been quiet and I remain quiet on that,” he said before walking away.

Bishop Ellis appointed Pastor Rickeno Moncur to the church as senior pastor one year ago, but the relationship seemed to have soured, resulting in Moncur’s resignation on Friday in a video post.

Moncur, in his first Sunday service, acknowledged that he was  “hurting for one year” while “preach[ing],” “serv[ing]” and “minister[ing] through it.”

“Some of you didn’t even know about it because I did not make it the priority,” he said on Sunday while he met with new congregants at the Super Flex Fusion. Moncur seemed to have carried with him some faithful members of Mt Tabor’s pastoral team, some church mothers including Bishop Ellis’ mother-in-law, and those who would have joined during his tenure.

Mt Tabor continued as usual though, with Bishop Ellis’ brother Delton Ellis on the podium offering the preached word where the pews seemed scant compared to other Sunday services.

At the end of his sermon, he invited hurt members to the altar to release their pain. Bishop Ellis’ wife Patrice was the first, where she knelt and prayed. Their eldest daughter stood near Bishop Ellis, and she was seen wiping tears from her eyes.

This makes the second humiliation for the church in one year. Bishop Ellis was preparing to appoint US-based Pastor Dario Carey to the post. Eventually, Bishop Ellis reneged on it, saying God told him not to do so anymore, after introducing Carey to the church and placing billboards on street corners.

With his wife and children, Carey moved back to New Orleans.

Claiming this is what God wants, Bishop Ellis then appointed Moncur.

Clergymen, Prime Minister Philip Davis, parliamentarians and scores of Bahamians congregated in Rawson Square to present a united front against the scourge of homicides which has spiraled in recent weeks.

The Bahamas Christian Council on the advice of Davis, hosted the event, praying to bring healing and comfort as the country battles eleven murders for the new year.

Recognizing that it is partly a spiritual fight, scores of Bahamians prayed and lifted their hands hoping to cancel the evil spirit and bring change among the country’s young men involved in gang retaliation.