Baptist Pastor Could Be Ousted For Accepting A LGBTQ Family As Members.

For more than three-decades, Towne View Baptist Church in Kennesaw has welcomed everyone with open arms. 

Pastor Jim Conrad has led the congregation at Towne View for 27-years, where his all-inclusive approach has been welcomed by many while being rejected by some others.

“I think it’s unfortunate,” Conrad said.

Conrad recently lost 30% of his membership and was put on notice by the Southern Baptist Convention for accepting LGBTQ members in his church.

“When a young man said, in my office, that he and his partner and their three boys were relocating to the area on a career move and he asked me for the first time in my ministry as a Pastor ‘would my family be welcome in your church;’ I had to pause because I had never been asked that question before, and I had been taught as a Southern Baptist my whole life, and I said ‘yes.’ You never tell someone ‘no, you’re not welcome,’” Conrad said.

The Southern Baptist Convention will meet in two weeks to determine whether to severe ties with Towne View Baptist Church for welcoming people like Brockton Bates.Live deliciously.Relish every fresh flavor, home-cooked meal, and sparkling everyday occasion with Sub-Zero refrigeration, Wolf cooking, and Cove dishwashing.Ad By Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove See More

“I think the stance the church is taking is an appropriate one. It’s a faithful one, and welcoming myself and my partner here it has just been wonderful,” Bates said.

“These are folks who love Jesus and they want to serve Jesus. They just happen to be gay or lesbian or transgender and we want them to know there’s a place here where we’ll love Jesus and we’ll serve Jesus together,” Conrad said. “We wish the folks at the SBC well; we hold no ill will towards them, but we’re ready to move and see what God’s future for our church is going to be.”

Vice President for Communications for the SBC Executive Committee Jonathan P. Howe released the following statement: