![]() The leadership of Moments of Hope Church has received official communication from Mission Community Church’s board about Ryan’s current disciplinary disqualification from ministry and have remained silent. It is our hope that this letter, as well as our testaments, will spur accountability and healing for Ryan and Bethany Carson, while also providing a warning, so that others involved in ministry with them may not experience spiritual and emotional harm. Over the years we have all lived life with Ryan and his family. We not only worked together but we shared many aspects of our personal and familial lives together. Ryan was not only our boss, but a friend, pastor, spiritual leader, and, to some, a father figure, officiant, and counselor. Ryan’s dynamic personality and charisma was felt by all. His ability to identify people’s unique giftings and callings initially attracted others to himself, especially those desiring to be part of an authentic community. Many quickly felt that we were home and that we belonged in the “family” the Carsons’ facilitated. Ultimately, this gave Ryan a position where he could control and abuse through this perceived trust, bond, and inclusion. Former staff, leaders, volunteers, and members have shared common personal experiences of spiritual and emotional abuse by Ryan Carson dating back to the founding of MCC in 2013 through 2020. ![]() an expectation of complete loyalty to Ryan.required isolation and silence to/from friends.These behaviors led to an unhealthy ministry environment, a dismantling of relationships, disillusionment of staff members’ personal identities and a degradation of individuals’ self-respect and agency. ![]() The Carsons have exhibited a pattern of sinful behavior that has already repeated itself through multiple iterations. In 20 the Carsons faced nearly identical crises. In 2016, an associate pastor at MCC and a lay leader confronted Ryan with the exact same experiences expressed by so many in 2020 which resulted in the pastor’s resignation and both of the leaders deciding to leave the church. Subsequently, other staff and nearly 80% of the church members left MCC because of Ryan’s abusive leadership. The Carsons then replanted MCC in a different location in South Charlotte and 4 years later the pattern repeated. Over the summer of 2020, nearly every employee resigned from Mission Community Church. This series of resignations was a result of the toxic culture that the Carsons had created for staff due their behavior and utter lack of accountability to leadership. Many of us attempted to follow scriptural guidelines for dealing with conflict within the church. Since 2016, the most noteworthy of these attempts occurred during the Fall of 2019. Multiple staff members had discussed Ryan’s behavior with him in one-on-one meetings ( Mt 18:15).
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