It's the church's money, the church owns the rifle, not the minister. The board of elders, deacons, or however that church is set up, needs to step in and claim it. If nothing else, they should raffle it off again to raise even more money for the team. Then they need to have a long serious talk with their thieving minister about who discretionary funds belong to.

“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
― George Orwell

It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.