More than a month after he was abruptly fired as the senior pastor of the 10,000-member Faith Center Ministries in Sunrise, Florida, Joel Tudman has claimed his removal was due to a disagreement with the church’s founder, Bishop Henry Fernandez.
Tudman, 49, made the revelation during a recent interview on The Breakfast Club syndicated radio show based in New York City.
“We disagreed. We disagreed in mission. I didn’t do anything wrong, nothing illegal, but we disagreed, and the disagreement didn’t allow us to go forward, so that relationship was severed,” Tudman told co-host Loren Lorosa when she asked about the firing.
While he didn’t provide further details on the disagreement, Tudman, who recently launched a new church called Believers City, also in Florida, said processing the firing just five months after he was confirmed in the job “has been difficult.”
“Processing it has been difficult because it’s public and it hurt,” he said. “I love those people. I love him.”
In a statement to his congregation during the 11 a.m. service on Aug. 31, Fernandez, who led the church for more than 30 years before handing over the reins to Tudman earlier this year, asked them to trust him as he discussed a letter he had sent them about Tudman’s firing.
“In the letter I sent, it was to advise you that Pastor Joel Tudman is no longer the senior pastor of this church. I’m gonna ask you to please pray for him and his family. That’s what we Christians are supposed to do,” Fernandez said while explaining that he would not share specifics about the reasons for Tudman’s firing. “I’m sorry if you need more detail and explanation. And as your pastor, I am going to make sure that this ministry focuses not on any man but on the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Tudman’s firing from the church came after what appeared to be a long vetting process. In the summer of 2024, Fernandez announced that Tudman would join the Faith Center as assistant senior pastor. He stated that he was sure, “without a doubt” in his mind, that he had made the right decision, and it was a transition he had hoped to make 10 years earlier.
In March, Tudman was officially installed as the new senior pastor of The Faith Center Ministries with his wife, LaTasha, in a service attended by several Christian celebrities, including the founder of The Potter’s House, Bishop T.D. Jakes.
Tudman had worked as an assistant pastor at The Potter’s House prior to joining The Faith Center Ministries. He also completed the Doctor of Ministry program at Jakes’ Divinity School in 2023.
In addressing how “uneasy” he has been in the aftermath of his departure from The Faith Center Ministries, which stirred a heated debate among Christians and church leaders on social media, Tudman said, “through it all, I still thank God.”
“That’s not a church answer. That’s my faith because I know all things work together for the good,” he said.
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