The word “presbytery” comes from the Greek word “presbyteros,”
which means “elder” (i.e., a church leader). A presbytery
consists of a group of churches connected to one another within
a geographical region. The pastors, elders and deacons, and
people from all the local churches in a presbytery are united
together by doctrine, Christian practice, and missionary
endeavors. The Scriptures demonstrate this connection among the
churches and their members. Scripture texts such as Acts
11:19-26, 15:1-29, 16:1-5, and 1 Timothy 4:14 demonstrate that
the collective decisions by the elders were decisions that
extended beyond a local congregation to all the churches in the
surrounding region. In Acts 21:17-27 and Galatians 1:18-2:14, we
see that the elders in a local church were responsible to the
regional body of church elders. There are sixteen presbyteries
in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. The Presbytery of the
Southwest consists of the churches in Texas, New Mexico, and
Oklahoma. List of Churches What does “Ortho