HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — Members of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) rejected a formal ban on churches with any women pastors, a decision that has congregations like First Baptist Church (FBC) in Huntsville breathing a sigh of relief.

In a historic vote, the SBC narrowly rejected a move that could’ve banned churches with female pastors, which differs from last year’s vote to ban such churches that required a two-thirds supermajority at two consecutive annual meetings.

U.S. Army Contracting Command to celebrate Change of Command ceremonies

FBC’s Senior Pastor Travis Collins tells News 19 the topic weighed heavily on his congregation which has four female ministers.

“It has felt like a big distraction,” Collins said. “At this point, at least it feels good to get back to helping people who are hurting, helping people understand the beauty of the message of Jesus, and helping people to understand the power of holy scripture.”

Although not all Baptist churches that fall under the SBC allow for women to be pastors, Collins says the move offers a bit of hope for aspiring female ministers in those churches that do.

“I think young ladies in any Baptist church should know that should God call them the way I understand it that any role is open to them,” Collins explained. “There are young ladies growing up now in churches where they have ministry modeled by women and so they might sense a call to ministry.”

Congrats on retirement, Steve Johnson! News 19 takes a look back at his 50+ year career

Despite failing to reach the required votes, 61% of SBC delegates voted in favor of the formal ban.

Collins believes the bible does not contradict itself. He explained how there are parts of the bible where women do preach, while other parts read as if only men are allowed to serve in those roles.

“If you’ve got restrictive text that says women don’t do this and you have a bunch of women doing this, then there must be something going on contextually here, there must be some reason for these particular restrictions during that time,” Collins said.

FBC in Huntsville is one of over 3,000 SBC affiliates in Alabama. Pastor Collins says while their model differs from others, the focus remains on their overall mission of delivering the word.

“Our church is in the minority the fact that we have from time to time a woman who preaches who baptizes, we ordain the females on our staff, we simply want to be who we sense God is calling us to be,” Collins told News 19.

The SBC’s official doctrinal statement still says the office of pastor is limited to men meaning it hasn’t officially reinforced the measure in its constitution.

Despite the vote to reject an official ban on churches with female pastors, the SBC removed a Virginia church for believing women can serve as ministers.

Collins says his church is grateful for the SBC, but the contradiction is why he believes the denomination is sending mixed signals and the future of his church’s membership remains unclear.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com.