The elder board of The Word Community Church in Northport, Alabama, said they had nothing to do with the recent indictment of their senior pastor, Scott Willmore, for a single count of first-degree theft of property, blaming the move instead on disgruntled former church members.
“As the Elders at The Word Community Church we would like it to be known that the church is not the one that is pursuing the matter that is being published in the news media. The Elder board of the church has been aware of the investigation and have conducted our own investigation into the allegations that former disgruntled members of the church have accused our pastor of,” elders of the church said in a statement published on their website.
“The current Elder Board with the current Finance committee have not found any wrongdoing of our Pastor and we stand behind him. These charges are being brought by disgruntled former members of the church, and he is being falsely accused. We want the public to know our side of these allegations.”
A grand jury indicted Willmore, 50, on June 3 after representatives of the church approached the police several months ago with concerns about how the finances of the congregation were being managed, Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Sgt. Josh Hastings told al.com.
He said investigators conducted multiple interviews and did a thorough review of financial records from the church. They later presented their findings to the grand jury, which elected to indict the pastor. On Monday, Willmore was booked in the Tuscaloosa County Jail at 9:34 a.m. and was released at 10:42 a.m. after posting a $30,000 bond.
Reacting to the news that day, Nancy Hale, who said she was among a group of people who reviewed the church finances, also insisted that Willmore is “innocent.”
“I realized that most of the people in Tuscaloosa don’t know Pastor Scott Willmore. And most of the people will believe that this mess is true. I can assure every one of you we are behind Pastor Scott 100%. He is not guilty,” Hale wrote in a post on Facebook.
“I am personally one of the ones that combed over the financials, including many licensed accountants. Nothing was found that would make him guilty. I have personally confronted him about it. He is innocent. We love him, and God put this man at The Word Community Church to carry out a big and mighty work,” she added. “He is in the process of changing Tuscaloosa through this church, and by saying he, I mean God!! He is using Pastor Scott in a mighty way, and if you’ve ever heard him preach, there will be no doubt in your mind that he is a man of God.”
While police did not state the amount of money Willmore is alleged to have stolen, first-degree theft is a Class B felony, which involves a minimum of $2,500 under Alabama law.
Willmore is set to be arraigned in August.
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