Carl Lentz, the disgraced pastor of Hillsong NYC who was fired in 2020 over moral failings and leadership issues, has broken his long public silence in a statement saying that the last few years have been "a challenging road".

In the brief statement on Instagram, Lentz said he and his family were still together and "at peace" thanks to the grace of God.

He said they were "hopeful" about the future as he expressed gratitude for the "unconditional" love and grace they have been shown over the past two years by friends and family.

"Its been a challenging road but we are alive, we are at peace and thanks to the grace of God we are TOGETHER [sic]," he said.

"Not sure what the future holds for us, but we do know that we face it as a family and for that I am so thankful.

"My deepest thanks to our friends and family that have shown us such unconditional love and grace when we have desperately needed it.

"Forever grateful.. we are hopeful about what is ahead!" 

The statement was posted alongside a set of black and white shots of his family including one of himself holding hands and smiling with his wife Laura, who has remained with him after the scandal. 

Laura Lentz posted a statement of her own to Instagram around the same time as her husband saying that the last 22 months had been "challenging" and taken "a lot of work" to heal their marriage.

She said she was "proud" of Lentz for taking responsibility for his actions and staying out of the public eye to work on his family.

"We will never stop working on ourselves, for this marriage and for our kids! I know there are many that don't or would never do what I chose to do, and that's ok, it's not for everyone!!" she said.

"I look forward to sharing our story, how I came to that conclusion and I think it's going to help a lot of people..

"But I am so proud of my husband & for the responsibility he's taken! Mostly I'm grateful for a man who humbled himself & didn't try to defend himself, he has kept quiet publically and he has remained focused on the one thing that matters most-our family!" 

The statement was published alongside the same set of black and white photos.

Lentz used to post regularly to his Instagram account but it went quiet after a statement published in response to his November 2020 firing admitting marital unfaithfulness and asking forgiveness.

"I was unfaithful in my marriage, the most important relationship in my life and held accountable for that. This failure is on me, and me alone and I take full responsibility for my actions," he wrote at the time.