Grace didn’t cover Pastor Barry Spears’ debts, so he dipped into the collection plate, according to a Columbia, South Carolina, sheriff’s office investigation.

Church funds paid for family credit card bills and a past-due IRS bill for a pest control company Spears once owned, according to the sheriff’s report.

Barry L. Spears, 54, and his wife, Jeri B. Spears, 64, also known as DeeDee, surrendered to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department on Tuesday, Sept. 29, according to a news release. Both were booked into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, where each received a personal recognizance bond, the release said.

Until May, Spears was pastor of SonRise Baptist Church, an independent fundamentalist Baptist congregation northeast of the city. The church has since been renamed Hilltop Baptist Church.

According to the sheriff’s department, Barry Spears was charged with first-degree violations of the state Computer Crime Act, forgery involving $10,000 or more and breach of trust with fraudulent intent. Jeri Spears was charged with obtaining goods valued at $10,000 or more under false pretenses.

If convicted, each faces a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and potential fines.

Investigators said the couple began taking money from the church in 2018 and used more than $200,000 for personal expenses, including a motorcycle, BMW and vehicle insurance.

An unnamed complainant reported in June 2025 that Spears had been accepting donations to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit established in the church’s name. The complainant said parishioners’ donations paid the family’s credit card bills and IRS tax bill.

The complainant told law enforcement officers the assistant pastor had contacted him and provided bank statements from the church account showing the fraudulent transactions.

The sheriff’s report lists the offense as “false pretenses/swindle/scam/fraud/breach of trust,” a felony, and says the criminal activity lasted from June 9, 2024, to June 9, 2025.

The church announced earlier this year that Spears had been removed from his position.

“It is with great sorrow that the men of SonRise Baptist Church must inform you that Barry L. Spears has been removed as the pastor and a member of SonRise Baptist Church,” the Facebook statement said.

The church also noted the audit done by an independent financial firm found “a lack of institutional control concerning church finances, no accountability, no checks and balances to guard against fraud.”

Funds for another ministry, purportedly helping those who “experienced the struggles of addiction,” were also routed through the church’s accounts and “converted for personal use,” the church said.

Barry and DeeDee Spears were allegedly the only individuals with access to those accounts.

“SonRise Baptist Church will be cooperating fully with law enforcement in this matter,” the church said.

The social media statement said the church’s finances “are secure” and that measures had been “put in place to ensure openness, transparency, and to restore the trust of the families and friends of SonRise Baptist Church.”

The announcement closed with a verse from 1 Peter 4:17: “For the time has come that judgement must begin at the house of God.”

The couple may also face federal charges. None have yet been filed.

Mark A. Kellner is a reporter based in Mesquite, Nevada. He most recently covered statewide elections for the New York Post and was for three years the Faith & Family Reporter for The Washington Times. Mark is a graduate of the University of the Cumberlands and also attended Boston University’s College of Communication.