NewSpring Church has announced that its leaving the Southern Baptist Convention over the South Carolina-based megachurch’s support of women serving in pastoral leadership roles.
The church recently noted in an “SBC Withdrawal Update” on its website that “our involvement with the SBC has been questioned, particularly regarding our stance on women in ministry.”
According to the church, the SBC Credentialing Committee reached out last September about “concerns that we didn’t ‘closely identify’ with the SBC’s statement of faith, particularly on the role of women in ministry.”
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On its website, NewSpring lists a woman named Meredith Knox as a “teaching pastor.” The SBC doesn’t allow for women to serve in the office of pastor.
Although the committee ultimately determined that NewSpring was still “in friendly cooperation” with the SBC, church leadership said, “this decision has created division among some pastors and leaders in the convention.”
“After prayerful consideration, we’ve decided to withdraw from national SBC participation,” the church’s leadership team said. “This decision is not about disagreement with the SBC’s core commitments but about preserving unity in the body of Christ.”
NewSpring added that they “affirm that both men and women are called to ministry and leadership,” but also believe that “the role of elder/overseer (or lead pastor) remains reserved for qualified men.”
“Our Leadership Team and Campus Pastors will remain qualified men, and we will continue to empower both men and women in their God-given callings while maintaining biblical distinctions in governance,” the church added.
“This decision is driven by a desire for unity and a commitment to Christ’s mission. We believe it will help us focus on what matters most: preaching the Gospel and seeing everyone everywhere in an every day relationship with Jesus.”
The committee’s earlier decision to recommend that NewSpring remain in friendly cooperation with the SBC was not without its critics, among them SBC President Clint Pressley.
“My understanding is that our Credentials Committee deemed a church in friendly cooperation that has a female teaching pastor,” he tweeted in February. “The committee needs to take another look at this one. Our statement of faith is clear about qualifications for a pastor.”
In recent years, the SBC has garnered much attention over its prohibition on women serving as pastors in member churches, with prominent congregations like Saddleback Church in California being disfellowshipped as a result.
Some are pushing for SBC messengers to adopt an amendment that would permanently prohibit female pastors during the denomination’s upcoming Annual Meeting in Dallas, Texas, in June.
Known as the Law Amendment, the proposal failed last year to get the necessary 66.66% of the vote to be ratified after being passed overwhelmingly at the SBC Annual Meeting in 2023.
“It is apparent that the Credentials Committee needs the clarification that this Amendment would have provided. For that reason, we are supporting a renewed effort to amend the SBC Constitution,” stated pastors who support the amendment.
Former SBC President J.D. Greear was among the critics, calling the amendment “unwise” and “unnecessary,” adding that it could lead to the departure of many minority congregations.
“I remain convictionally opposed to this amendment, not because of its content but because of its attempt to undermine our historic principles of cooperation,” Greear wrote on his website ahead of last year’s vote.
