JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- You can find his name and picture on Florida's sex offender registry, but you can now hear and see 49-year-old Darrell Gilyard preach at a Northside church.
Gilyard plead guilty to molesting a 15--year-old girl he was supposed to counsel at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church. He also sent lewd text messages to another teen. "This is his second Sunday, and he will be here until they tell him he can't return," said Gilyard's assistant, Rebecca Smith.
After three years in prison he is back in the pulpit at Christ Tabernacle Baptist Church. His assistant says the small congregation of about 10 has grown to over a hundred. "We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. And God gives us chance after chance after chance."
"I love to hear his messages," said Fran Lewis. Lewis is a member of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, but came to Christ Tabernacle to show her support. "He can deliver the word better than anyone I have heard. And that is what I am interested in, the bible."
As a sex offender Gilyard is not allowed to be around minors. So his Sunday service is for adults only. "I see his heart, and I see his sincerity. And what we need to do as Christians is come together instead of criticize people," said Michael Cobb.
"He has paid he debt to society, and now he is paying his debt to God and using the talent God gave him," said Lewis. Members say despite his record, they are called to forgive and they will be at Gilyard's service every Sunday.
The New Black Panther Party said they will protest Darrell Gilyard's return. They say they want him to step down. They plan to picket in front of Christ Tabernacle Baptist Church Monday morning.
