{"id":2433440,"date":"2025-05-11T15:40:02","date_gmt":"2025-05-11T19:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pastor-accused-of-doing-the-unthinkable-with-church-funds-some-not-happy-with-official-response\/"},"modified":"2025-05-11T15:42:32","modified_gmt":"2025-05-11T19:42:32","slug":"pastor-accused-of-doing-the-unthinkable-with-church-funds-some-not-happy-with-official-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pastor-accused-of-doing-the-unthinkable-with-church-funds-some-not-happy-with-official-response\/","title":{"rendered":"Pastor Accused of Doing the Unthinkable with Church Funds, Some Not Happy with Official Response"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpastor-accused-of-doing-the-unthinkable-with-church-funds-some-not-happy-with-official-response%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2433440&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Pastor Daniel Champ of the First Baptist Church in Bel air, Maryland, has been charged with theft and embezzlement for allegedly misappropriating over $135,000 in church funds for personal expenses, including sports betting and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/unconstitutional-food-delivery-services-sue-new-york-city-over-delivery-fee-regulations\/\" title=\"\u2018Unconstitutional\u2019: Food Delivery Services Sue New York City Over Delivery Fee Regulations\">food delivery services<\/a>. The indictment states that Champ began stealing from the church in January 2019, but the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rep-bill-huizenga-ftx-collapse-a-combination-of-bad-business-decisions-fraud-and-possible-money-laundering\/\" title=\"Rep. Bill Huizenga: FTX Collapse a Combination of Bad Business Decisions, Fraud, and Possible Money Laundering\">missing funds<\/a> were only discovered in October 2024, which led to his termination; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/prince-harry-meghan-markle-admit-to-falsehood-in-oprah-interview\/\" title=\"Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Admit To Falsehood In Oprah Interview\">church officials<\/a> did not promptly disclose the reasons for his sudden removal, leaving some congregants feeling frustrated. Champ is currently out on a $15,000 bond and has been removed from all church financial accounts. He is scheduled to appear in court this month. The incident has raised concerns among church members about transparency and accountability within their community.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Police have charged a pastor with theft and embezzlement after he allegedly stole more than $100,000 from his church in the town of Bel Air, Maryland.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel Champ, a pastor at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FirstBaptistHarford\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">First Baptist Church<\/a>, reportedly used the money for sports betting, DoorDash, and PayPal, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/baltimore\/news\/harford-county-pastor-embezzling-daniel-champ-first-baptist-church\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WJZ-TV<\/a> in Baltimore reported April 30.<\/p>\n<p>The pastor ultimately spent more than $135,000 of the church&rsquo;s money for his personal use.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">A Md. pastor accused of using his church&rsquo;s money for personal use, including sports betting, is facing 5 counts of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/once-powerful-official-the-first-ever-cardinal-to-be-prosecuted-in-vatican-criminal-court-will-learn-fate-today\/\" title=\"First-ever Cardinal on trial in Vatican court awaits verdict today\">embezzlement-related charges<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Pastor Daniel Champ of First Baptist Church of Hartford County was arrested on charges of theft over $100,000.<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IgBb6KkzCR\">https:\/\/t.co\/IgBb6KkzCR<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Julie Roys (@reachjulieroys) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/reachjulieroys\/status\/1918742296155029918?\">May 3, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Champ allegedly began stealing from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/tide-turning-churches-across-country-report-unprecedented-easter-weekend-numbers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the church<\/a> in January 2019, according to the indictment that WJZ-TV cited.<\/p>\n<p>It wasn&rsquo;t until October 2024, however, that church officials discovered missing funds before eventually tying the suspicious charges to Champ.<\/p>\n<p>The pastor&rsquo;s sudden termination blindsided the congregation.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They would talk about holding meetings and not say why, and then all of a sudden the pastor was gone, he was just gone,&rdquo; one anonymous congregant said.<\/p>\n<p>Below is a Sept. 11, 2024, sermon that Champ preached.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none; overflow: hidden;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?height=315&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FFirstBaptistHarford%2Fvideos%2F877488260987631%2F&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=560&amp;t=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"430\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>At least one <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >anonymous congregant didn&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t like the way the church handled the crisis.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I was very disappointed that they didn&rsquo;t come out honestly and tell us what was happening, why they weren&rsquo;t forthcoming and honest,&rdquo; the member said. &ldquo;Because money goes to that church, that&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/380-million-unemployed-preschoolers-people-future-doge-makes-mind-blowing-new-discoveries\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the people&rsquo;s money<\/a>. And why weren&rsquo;t they honest? Why didn&rsquo;t they just tell people?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think they need to come clean and be honest with the people. I think the people need to know,&rdquo; the member added.<\/p>\n<p>The 42-year-old pastor is free on a $15,000 bond, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/julieroys.com\/maryland-pastor-accused-using-churchs-money-to-bet-on-sports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Roys Report<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Champ has since been removed from the church&rsquo;s financial account, according to the Harford County Sheriff&rsquo;s Office.<\/p>\n<p>He was given 60 days to vacate his residence on the church&rsquo;s property and he is set to appear in court this month.<\/p>\n<p>During a sermon on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FirstBaptistHarford\/videos\/8362828583763800\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sept. 8, 2024<\/a>, Champ spoke about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=1%20Thessalonians%202%3A3-12&amp;version=ESV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">1 Thessalonians 2<\/a>, admonishing against preaching the gospel for personal or monetary gain.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We looked at the cloak of covetousness &mdash; was kind of the saying there. &hellip; You&rsquo;re not doing it for gain, for materialistic gain, whether it be money, or fame, or something else,&rdquo; Champ said. &ldquo;And we did see in Peter that false teachers, they will do it for that. They&rsquo;ll use people for their own gain. &hellip; They&rsquo;re basically using people as a means to gain wealth.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Police have charged a pastor with theft and embezzlement for allegedly stealing over $100,000 from his church in Bel Air, Maryland. Daniel Champ, the pastor of First Baptist Church, reportedly used the funds for sports betting, DoorDash, and PayPal transactions. According to WJZ-TV in Baltimore on April 30, he misappropriated more than $135,000 for personal expenses. Champ faces five counts related to embezzlement after being arrested for theft exceeding $100,000. He began taking money from the church in January 2019; however, it wasn&#8217;t until October 2024 that officials discovered the missing funds and linked them to him. His abrupt dismissal surprised many congregants who felt left in the dark about the situation. The pastor is currently out on a $15,000 bond and has been removed from all financial accounts associated with the church while awaiting court proceedings this month<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2433441,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Small-Church.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[55030,14117,4633],"class_list":["post-2433440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-church-funds","tag-pastor","tag-scandal"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Small-Church.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2433440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2433440"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2433440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2433444,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2433440\/revisions\/2433444"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2433441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2433440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2433440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2433440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}