HUDSONVILLE, MI -- The former pastor of a large Hudsonville area church is accused of using church funds to pay for a European cruise and Colorado vacation, a court probable cause affidavit shows.

Gary Petersen, 62, is expected to be charged in Hudsonville District Court with two counts of embezzlement, involving less than $20,000.

Petersen, the former pastor of Wellspring Community Church, is expected to be arraigned April 23. He resigned from the church in September.

He founded Wellspring about 18 years ago in his home. Years later, the church was built on Bauer Road in the Hudsonville area.

In court documents, Ottawa County sheriff's detectives allege Petersen opened an American Express credit card through Costco Club in 2006.

The card was in the name of Wellspring Church, but Petersen was the only one authorized to use it and the church's financial committee did not know it existed, police said.

Charges made on the card were paid by Wellspring through the church's Fifth Third Bank account, police said.

Detectives allege Petersen went on a Costa Pacifica cruise in December 2010 with his wife and another couple and put $1,416 on the American Express card. The cruise was out of Rome.

Then, in summer 2012, Petersen charged $1,568 on the card for a lodging upgrade during a vacation in Avon, Colorado.

According to the affidavit, Petersen was in Colorado at the Sheraton Mountain Vista Resort and staying there through a gift by another person.

But after they got to the Sheraton Mountain resort, Petersen believed the accommodations were too small and wanted to upgrade. The person who gave the gift told Petersen it would be at Petersen's expense, detectives said.

Police allege Petersen managed to hide the credit card by making online web payments or voice payments from the church's Fifth Third account.

"These payments were not made by check, which would have required that they be authorized by signing members of the Finance Committee," a detective testified for the affidavit.

"The existence of the American Express credit card was hidden from the Finance Committee by dividing the expenditures over other expense categories," he testified.

Wellspring Community Church leaders say his departure in September was unrelated to the alleged embezzlement, but rather because of in issue involving "moral failure."

Petersen is now a pastor at The Rock Church in Grandville.

His attorney, Chris Brigman, declined comment Wednesday, April 16.

Wellspring Community Church issued the following statement:

"It came to light through an external audit of the Wellspring Church financial records that former pastor Gary Petersen had been using church money for personal expenditures. Ottawa County authorities have investigated the financial improprieties and have decided to file criminal charges, which is what brings this matter into the public eye at this time.

"The Wellspring Church Board of Elders and Deacons has cooperated with authorities throughout this investigation. The greatest desire and intention of Wellspring Church is to move forward and to keep its focus on Christ with the ongoing ministry of the church. We ask others to respect the privacy of this matter and not to engage the interests of those who only wish to highlight the moral failures of a Christian leader."

E-mail John Tunison: jtunison@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/johntunison