In a shocking move from the latest Southern Baptist Convention, a motion to ban female pastors from working in the denomination has failed.
Previously, churches have been ousted from the SBC because they employed female pastors. Now, their attempt to rid females in ministry once-and-for-all appears to have ended.
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As the Christian Post reported, this motion, which would have kept women from being employed in any ministerial role within an SBC church has failed, this following the failure of a Law Amendment to the denomination regarding a similar situation last year.
The motion would have altered the denomination’s constitution to read that “only men as any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by Scripture.”
The motion needed to pass a two-thirds majority: 60.74% of the ballots were in favor of this shift, while 38.9% were not, just missing the mark.
Pastor Juan Sanchez of High Pointe Baptist Church in Austin, Texas, who proposed the motion, rejected the belief that this statement would have taken women out of other leadership roles. He says that his congregation includes both male and female deacons.
This narrow miss may actually be a sign of something deeper stirring within the Southern Baptist Convention—something prophetic. While the motion to constitutionally ban female pastors failed to meet the supermajority threshold, its very failure points to a potential move of the Holy Spirit that transcends denominational boundaries and traditions.
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According to the prophet Joel, in the last days God will pour out His Spirit on all flesh, and “your sons and your daughters shall prophesy” (Joel 2:28). What if this moment is not simply about church governance, but about making room for revival? A revival that recognizes the callings God places on both men and women to preach, teach and prophesy under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Rather than division, this could be the beginning of deeper unity through obedience to the Spirit’s leading—something that may very well reshape the future of the Baptist church and spark a fresh outpouring of God’s power in unexpected places.
Abby Trivett is content development editor for Charisma Media.
A prophetess is not a pastor, neither is an evangelist. They might act with the role of a pastor, however a pastoral role is not required to act out on these gifts.