Formal Statement of Concerns Regarding Pastoral Conduct, Financial Accountability, and Youth Safeguarding
This statement sets forth serious concerns regarding alleged conduct involving individuals serving in pastoral leadership positions at Holiday Community Fellowship Church aka HCFC, a nondenominational church in Florida. These concerns warrant appropriate, impartial review to determine whether any applicable standards of pastoral ethics, financial accountability, organizational policy, or child-safeguarding requirements have been violated.
1. Concerns Regarding Pastor Ernie Bullock
Concerns have been raised regarding the alleged personal and sexual conduct of Pastor Ernie Bullock, including claims of overlapping intimate relationships involving individuals in different locations, reportedly while he was engaged to a woman residing in Atlanta, Georgia. Additional allegations concern a purported intimate relationship with a church secretary and statements attributed to him concerning other romantic relationships.
These allegations have not been independently established in this statement and should not be treated as verified findings. They warrant review to the extent that reliable evidence exists and the alleged conduct is relevant to pastoral responsibilities, workplace boundaries, conflicts of interest, or the church’s own ethical standards.
2. Concerns Regarding Youth Ministry Leadership and Financial Accountability
Serious concerns have also been raised regarding Dequrez Ray Gulley, reportedly known as Pastor Dequrez Gulley, Pastor Gulley, or Que, who has been associated with youth ministry leadership.
The concerns include allegations of personal conduct potentially inconsistent with the responsibilities of a pastoral leader, as well as questions about the handling and use of funds donated to the church’s youth program.
In particular, allegations have been made that funds designated for youth ministry activities may have been used to pay for luxury hotel accommodations and other expenses benefiting the pastor and his wife. If substantiated, such expenditures would warrant examination of the applicable donor restrictions, church financial policies, authorization procedures, receipts, and accounting records.
Additional concerns involve alleged shopping trips with female youth ministry participants who were minors, during which makeup or clothing was reportedly purchased without the knowledge of their parents or appropriate church leadership. These claims require careful, evidence-based examination to establish the circumstances, the nature of the interactions, whether appropriate parental consent was obtained, and whether applicable safeguarding policies were followed.
Any concerns regarding substance use or personal relationships should be evaluated on the basis of reliable evidence and their demonstrable relevance to pastoral responsibilities, rather than treated as proof of misconduct in themselves.
3. Institutional Accountability and Duty to Review
Questions have been raised about whether church leadership was aware of any of these concerns and, if so, what steps were taken in response.
An impartial review should establish what leadership knew, when it became aware of the allegations, whether the claims were investigated, whether financial records were examined, and whether appropriate safeguards were implemented.
Where allegations involve potential financial misconduct, the review should include an examination of relevant accounting records, donor restrictions, expense reimbursements, authorization documents, and other available evidence.
Where allegations involve interactions with minors, the priority must be the safety and welfare of the young people involved. Appropriate safeguarding measures should be implemented without prejudging the outcome of an investigation.
4. Request for Independent Review
The purpose of raising these concerns is to encourage accountability, protect the integrity of the church, safeguard minors, and ensure that donated funds are handled appropriately.
The allegations should be assessed by an impartial person or body with no material conflict of interest. Findings should be based on reliable evidence, with appropriate confidentiality and procedural fairness for everyone involved.
No individual should be presumed guilty solely because an allegation has been made. Equally, credible concerns involving youth safeguarding, financial accountability, or the exercise of pastoral authority should not be dismissed without appropriate review.
This statement is intended to distinguish allegations requiring investigation from facts that have been independently verified. It should not be interpreted as a finding of guilt, a declaration of criminal conduct, or a substitute for an investigation by an appropriate authority.
Pastor Ernie Bullock is under investigation for relationship and sexual improprieties. He has been sleeping with the church secretary while being engaged to a woman in Atlanta Georgia and while sleeping with a third “female friend with benefits” in Upstate New York. He brags about having many other love interests around the United States. As for the other pastor, the Youth pastor in the church, Pastor Dequrez Gulley aka Que aka Pastor Gulley, 43-year-old individual named Dequrez Ray Gulley resides in the Pasco/Pinellas County area of Florida (Holiday / Largo) and has many traffic infractions or driving violations on record, has openly admitted to smoking marijuana on a daily basis, has openly admitted to cheating on his wife, and has misappropriated funds that were donated to the church’s Youth Program which he used to pay for luxury hotel stays for him and his wife, as well as for inappropriate shopping trips with some of his underaged minor females in the Youth ministry to buy them makeup and clothing without their parents’ or the church’s knowledge . The church is aware of these improprieties by these two men but still keep them in the church as Associate Administrative Pastor Ernie Bullock and Youth Vibes Pastor Dequrez Gulley.
