UPDATE: Chilliwack church soliciting donations during Sunday service, 17 months after CRA revoked charitable status
College Street Victory Church congregants still asked to give 10 per cent of income while Canada Revenue Agency issues tax adjustment letters to donors
August 19, 2026
(*Updates August 20, 2026: Three updates were made to this story after publication: 1. One of the other charities at 9525 College St. asked for a clarification in the story that they have nothing to do with the church; 2. BAT Alberta responded to an email request to comment; 3. The church's board issued a lengthy email to all donors regarding charitable tax status that did not address any elements of this article)
This past Sunday a College Street Victory Church board member asked for donations after the service despite the fact that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) revoked the church’s charitable status 17 months ago.
The Chilliwack church’s leadership has been asking for members to tithe – which means give 10 per cent of income – at weekly services since the May 3, 2025 revocation, which is also almost a month since some donors received adjustment letters from the CRA pointing out their money is not tax deductible.
In documents obtained by Something Worth Reading, lead pastor Matthew Funk signed official receipts to donors for 2025 income tax purposes in February 2026.
College Street Victory Church was asked via email if it is the same organization formerly registered with CRA as Fraser Valley Victory Churches under that number. That CRA number, which legally offered tax-deductible status prior to May 3, 2025, is the same number on receipts signed by the lead pastor for the 2025 tax year. No one from church management replied before publication.
The church was also asked if they had re-registered as a charity since CRA revoked the registration, something that would come with a new number and would be provided to donors on receipts.
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Oops, ’they did it again’
This past Sunday (August 16, 2026), fully 17-and-a-half months after tax-deductible status was revoked, church board member Rick and Camilla Higginbottom were on stage in the church on College Street in a live broadcast in front of a large screen showing how payments could be made: online, by e-transfer, or even with a point-of-sale machine in the church.
“They did it again. Today Rick and Cam spoke on taking tithes and offerings,” a church member told this reporter on August 16 about the push for money from congregants at the service, shared online. The source did not want her name used because they are worried about repercussions from church leadership.
Near the end of the one-hour-20-minute service, Rick Higginbottom wrapped up the sermon.
“As you keep your eyes on Jesus, keep your attention to Christ and fill your heart with his word,” Higginbottom said. “You’ll fill your life with a steady confidence that refuses to be shaken.”
The screen then changed behind them to graphic images of a phone, a point-of-sale machine and a computer, with the bold all-caps words: E-TRANSFER give@wherepeoplematter.church, POS MACHINE in the loft, and ONLINE www.wherepeoplematter.church.
“Another way we are gonna grow, is through tithes,” Higginbottom continued, adding that he and his wife tithe. He said tithing isn’t what “we do, it is who we are,” and doing so offers otherwordly benefits.
“So when you tithe in God’s house, this house, you get to be a part of what God is doing here.”
Several former members of the church contacted this reporter after an initial unrelated story on May 1, 2026, about a senior member of the church facing criminal charges for accessing and possessing child pornography. As some ex-members shared anecdotes about Vincent Perron, who faces the charges, and his close connection with senior church leadership, information came out about the chapter of an anti-sex trafficking motorcycle club they started. Then came the charitable status issue.
One ex-member, who also reported intimidation for questioning the church, said they were required to sign a document promising they would tithe 10 per cent of their income.
Failed to file, warned by CRA, status revoked
There is no uncertainty about the revocation or chance church leaders are making mistakes. The church was warned about not filing a T3010 form months prior to May 2025. That T3010 shares details about a charity's activities, governance and finances, required to maintain legal status and provide public transparency.
Because College Street Victory Church (which goes by Fraser Valley Victory Churches to CRA) did not file its T3010 form, CRA then issued a T2051A form, which the church apparently ignored. That second form is a threat to revoke charitable status if proper tax documentation is not filed. It was not.
Something Worth Reading obtained a copy of the final “notice of revocation of registration” letter dated May 8, 2025 that CRA issued to the church, explaining its charity registration was revoked immediately. The official date of revocation was May 3, 2025.
The letter explains that when a charity’s registration is revoked for failure to file, there are a number of repercussions: it can no longer issue official donations receipts; is no longer tax-exempt; has to pay a $500 failure-to-file penalty if the charity applies for re-registration; and has to pay a revocation tax.
The church was given two options: to apply for re-registration as a charity, or not apply and pay the revocation tax.
There are also two other non-profit business licences registered at 9525 College St. One is the Chilliwack Community Cupboard Society has no connection at all to the church, according to manager/president Doreen Jones in an email after this article was first published.
The other is Pamela’s House Society. Pamela’s House is directly related to what drew the attention of some church members (now ex-members) to questions about church administration. Vincent Perron is a prominent member of the church family, apparently quite close with lead pastor Matthew Funk and his wife Charmaine, all three of whom came to Chilliwack to start the church from Lethbridge, Alberta. Perron is charged with possessing and accessing child pornography, an offence in the Criminal Code now referred to as child sex abuse and exploitation materials (CSAEM) after new legislation passed in October 2025.
As of January 2026, Perron was was listed as manager of Pamela’s House, a licensed child-care program at the church. When reached by telephone in April, Perron said he was out of province and that it was “misinformation” that he is or was the manager of Pamela’s House.
“I’m not involved with anything,” Perron said. “I’m not even there.”
Perron was last due in court Tuesday (August 18) to face the CSAEM charges. It is early in the criminal proceedings, and the case was put over to Sept. 8.
Matthew Funk and Vincent Perron are also involved with an organization connected to the church called Bikers Against Trafficking (BAT). This is the Chilliwack branch of the Lethbridge-based BAT Canada, which is an affiliate of the original BAT out of Florida.
“According to UNICEF, every two minutes a child is taken into slavery around the world and every 30 seconds a child is sold for sex,” according to information shared on the BAT website.
College Street Victory Church leadership was asked about this obviously problematic connection, but no one from the church responded to multiple requests to comment. They were also asked about Perron’s current location, and that he has been seen by several people in Chilliwack, even in the church, since they said he was out of province.
They also did not respond regarding the tax revocation issue. The church's board of directors did, however, send an email out to “Supporters of College Street” eight hours after this story was published, which promised to be a “brief and transparent update regarding our charitable status.”
“We recently discovered that an accounting oversight resulted in a temporary suspension of our charitable status,” the letter started. The word “recently” could be considered problematic since this issue that church administration was well aware of goes back to early 2025.
The email says that donations are secure and accounted for. It claims that there may be a delay, but that proper charitable receipts will be issued. The email also says they have “dealth with situations like this before,” although does not elaborate.
“Simply put: your donations are secure, your giving is properly recorded, and we are working with experienced leadership to ensure your eligible charitable receipts are properly handled.”
No one from the U.S.-based original BAT Florida immediately responded to requests to comment. After publication, an unsigned email was sent from BAT Alberta distancing itself from Perron.
“Each BAT Chapter is independent and manages its own membership and so we have no knowledge of Mr. Perron's involvement or status within the Chilliwack chapter,” the email said.
According to CRA's online list of charities in Canada, the church took in $395,618 in receipted donations in the year ending Dec. 31, 2022, the latest year available in the searchable database. That was up from $243,389 in 2021 and $141,308 in 2020. In a response Monday to a request for documents about the church’s latest five years of financial statements, a CRA spokesperson said they would provide the documents by early next week.
Further updates to this story will be made when available.
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