LEWISTON – More than two months after Vineyard Church fired its bookkeeper and hired an outside accounting firm to check into missing money, church officials have come to believe at least $200,000 was mismanaged during the church’s recent $1.8 million Foss Road building project. The outside accounting firm continues to look into the cause.

“It was mismanagement of money, and we had some unauthorized spending that should have gone through other sources that it didn’t go through,” Pastor Phil Strout said.

“There’s definitely a small level of unauthorized spending, but it’s in the middle of a building campaign and it’s a church that was 400 (members) that now is now 1,000. And the complexity of it, I think, got away and the person didn’t ask for help.”

The church noticed questionable bookkeeping practices at the end of August and Strout told parishioners about it days later, over Labor Day weekend. The bookkeeper, a church employee, was fired and a Portland accounting firm was hired to go over the church’s books.

“What should have been used in one thing got used in another in the finishing of our building. She outspent what we had,” Strout said. “We’ve got that much pretty well covered.”

Vineyard parishioners and other churches around the country donated approximately $200,000 so Vineyard could pay off building contractors and settle other bills left unpaid by the bookkeeper. All vendors have now been paid, Strout said.

“We’re handling it the best we can, with really good cooperation from everybody and much patience on behalf of the people who were waiting for their money,” Strout said.

The church has not filed any criminal charges against the bookkeeper, though Strout said the church may reconsider if the accounting firm’s final analysis warrants it.

Church officials met with the congregation in mid-September to update them on the bookkeeping situation.

Strout expects to hold a second meeting at the end of November or the beginning of December.