Paul Tremblay

Introduction

Paul Leo Tremblay is a former financial stewardship pastor at Southall Church in Franklin, Tennessee, whose years of church finance work ended in criminal charges. On September 3, 2026, a Williamson County grand jury indicted the 58-year-old on a charge of theft of property valued at $250,000 or more, and sheriff’s deputies took him into custody a week later. Investigators with the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office allege that, over his nine years of employment at the church, Tremblay took more than $350,000 in church funds for his personal benefit. Those figures come from the sheriff’s office and from published reports — they are allegations, not established facts, and the case against him is still pending. This page reviews what is on the public record: his role at Southall Church, the investigation that led to the indictment and arrest, and what comes next.

Background Information

Tremblay was employed at Southall Church from 2017 through 2025, most recently serving as the church’s financial stewardship pastor, according to the sheriff’s office. He was 58 years old and living in White House, Tennessee, at the time of his arrest. The church’s personnel web page currently does not list a financial stewardship position.

Southall Church was already familiar to Middle Tennessee readers before the case against Tremblay. Under its former name, Grace Chapel, the church made headlines in 2021, when services were disrupted after Sarah Berger, wife of church founder Steve Berger, seized a microphone and accused the Rev. Rob Rogers of “sinning against my husband.” Rogers later said he regretted the difficult transition from Berger’s leadership to his own role as senior pastor. That episode predates the theft investigation by several years, but it helps explain why news outlets followed the sheriff’s office announcement about the church’s former finance pastor closely.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

The sequence of events, as laid out by the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office and reported by NewsChannel 5, Main Street Media of Tennessee, and The Roys Report, began in August 2025 — about a year before the indictment. Personnel at Southall Church contacted the sheriff’s office to report suspected theft of church funds by Tremblay. Detectives opened an investigation and, over the following year, identified more than $350,000 in church funds that Tremblay is alleged to have taken for his personal benefit during his nine years of employment. The sheriff’s office has not said publicly how the funds were allegedly taken or what the money was used for.

On September 3, 2026, a Williamson County grand jury returned an indictment charging Tremblay with theft of property valued at $250,000 or more, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Sheriff’s deputies arrested the White House man on September 10 and booked him into the Williamson County Criminal Justice Center, where his bond was set at $75,000.

Allegations. Tremblay has been indicted on one count of theft of property valued at $250,000 or more. The claim that he took more than $350,000 in church funds for personal benefit comes from detectives at the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office. An indictment is a formal accusation, not a conviction. Tremblay is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court, and no court has ruled on the charge.

Public Reaction and Consequences

Public reaction so far has been measured, in part because the sheriff’s office announced the case alongside the arrest rather than the indictment a week earlier. NewsChannel 5 and Main Street Media of Tennessee reported the arrest and the sheriff’s office’s account of the investigation, and The Roys Report, a site focused on accountability in Christian institutions, published a fuller account of the case and its history at the church. None of the news reports included a statement from Southall Church responding to the charge, and no attorney representing Tremblay had been identified in the coverage. The Roys Report contacted both the sheriff’s office and the church requesting comment.

The practical consequences were immediate. Tremblay’s employment at Southall Church had already ended through 2025, the financial stewardship role has since disappeared from the church’s personnel page, and he began late September 2026 as a felony defendant answering to a $75,000 bond and a court date.

Current Status

As of mid-September 2026, the case remains pending. Tremblay is scheduled to appear in Williamson County Circuit Court on September 30, 2026. He was booked into the Williamson County Criminal Justice Center with bond set at $75,000, and the published reports do not indicate that he has entered a plea. The sheriff’s office has not said how the funds were allegedly taken, what the money was allegedly used for beyond Tremblay’s personal benefit, or whether any of it has been recovered. Those details, along with any defense response, may emerge as the case moves through the court system.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Whatever the outcome in court, the professional damage is already on the record. Tremblay’s career in church finance — nine years at Southall Church, culminating in the financial stewardship pastor role — ended with his departure through 2025, and the position no longer appears on the church’s public listing of personnel. A felony indictment for theft of property valued at $250,000 or more now defines his public profile, tied to a sum detectives put at more than $350,000. His scheduled September 30 appearance in Williamson County Circuit Court begins the process of resolving the charge. Until a court rules, the accusations against him remain allegations, and he remains presumed innocent.