SC Baptist Church Begins Ordaining LGBT Ministers

UPDATE: A previous version of this story stated the church was in Greenville, North Carolina. That was incorrect, the church is in Greenville, South Carolina.

A church in South Carolina is set to begin ordaining gay and transgender ministers.

The pastor of the First Baptist Church of Greenville said the congregation started discussing the policy change well before the Supreme Court's decision to make gay marriage legal nationwide.

"It's going to open up a space for evangelical gay people to have a place again," Pastor Jim Dant said.

The church will now offer same-sex marriage ceremonies and will allow gay and transgender members to hold leadership positions.

First Baptist Greenville cut ties with the Southern Baptist convention in the early 1990s. It's now a member of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

However, the fellowship opposed the church's decision.

"The foundation of a Christian sexual ethic is faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman and celibacy in singleness," the CBF said in a statement.