The Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant evangelical organization in the United States, meeting in Indianapolis for its 2024 conference, has voted not to ban women from being pastors in its churches.

On June 11, thousands of Southern Baptist Convention members formally voted on adding language to the organization's Constitution that officially lists its position on women in pastoral leadership, ABC News reported.

Still, the vote failed. And the SBC said it didn't get the required two-thirds votes to adopt the amendment.

Previously, language on women in pastoral leadership was only in the church's statement of faith.

Members voted to decide if this description should be added to the constitution: "While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor/elder/overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture."

The convention leaders still said that they're against women holding the title of pastor, but that it did not merit a change in their Constitution or Statement of Faith, Fox News reported.

A local pastor told FOX23 that such concepts are up for interpretation in each church and are not the primary focus of a congregation.

After years of debate, representatives at the SBC chose not to put a constitutional ban on women pastors.

However, the convention still stands by a section in its Statement of Faith which reads in part, "While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor/elder/overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture."

In the past, the SBC had removed some churches from their convention for having women as pastors, but with 49 percent of the convention voting against the move during the week, several churches in the SBC believe this part of the statement is up for "Biblical interpretation."

According to the ABC, churches with female pastors would not have automatically been expelled or banned if the vote passed.