A Hamilton, Ont. church is blaming a "shortcoming" in record-keeping as the reason why its charitable status was stripped away over the weekend.

The Dominion Christian Centre of Canada said in a statement Wednesday afternoon that it objects to the findings of a Canada Revenue Agency audit that says donations to the church were being used to fund gym memberships, personal trips and private vehicles.

The audit also concluded the church filed official donation receipts that contained incorrect or false information.

"Funds from donations were properly used," the organization said in the statement. "Church trips and vacations were not paid by the church, but were paid for by the members. Gym memberships, while held by the church were paid for by the members and were not tax receipted. A church vehicle was leased personally, and was paid for personally, and not by the church.

"The pastors since December of 2006 have not taken any compensation for their work, but volunteer their work as pastors," the statement continued. "They do not receive personal benefits for their work, nor do any of the church members."

The statement goes on to say that the church is going through a difficult period and that "everyone is sacrificing as they should."

In a telephone conversation with ctvtoronto.ca, Pastor Peggy Rigo said the church would not be commenting further.

The Dominion Christian Centre, located near Bay Street North and Cannon Street West, was stripped of its charitable status on Feb. 14.

The church has faced controversy before. Its founder Peter Rigo and the church were the subjects of a CTV W-FIVE report in 2006 which looked at the ways the organization draws people in and how the church was being run.

The Canada Revenue Agency says it warned the church with an official notice on Dec. 30, 2008 that it intended revoke the organization's charitable registration.

The official notice said that the audit "revealed serious issues of non-compliance."

The notice also said the organization's assets were being misused for the private benefit of the church's directors, employees, members and donors.

"The charity has improperly issued receipts for transactions that do not qualify as gifts, and has failed to properly establish the fair market value of property received which, in several cases, was significantly inflated," the letter said.

The notice also said the audit found that money from the church was being used to fund personal benefits rather than charitable programs.

Once a charity has its licence revoked, it can no longer issue donation receipts for income tax purposes.

In the statement, the church apologized for the situation.

"We have worked tirelessly in order to comply with the CRA and its significant requirements. We are sorry that appropriate record keeping was a shortcoming of our work, but we now have come to grips with the same and are doing as is required."

The statement also said that the church is receiving professional consulting to bring it back into good standing with the Canada Revenue Agency.

The church, described as "spirit-filled, bible-based, non-denominational" on its website, was established in 2000 by Pastors Peter and Peggy Rigo.