We Are Presbyterian

Presbyterian simply designates our form of church government. Perhaps, the easiest way to explain the Presbyterian form of church government is to simply say that we are not autonomous. There exists in the Presbyterian form of government accountability at a local (session), regional (presbytery), and national (general assembly) level.

Presbyterianism traces its  roots back to the Scottish reformation and the leadership of John Knox, who was heavily influenced by John Calvin in Geneva, Switzerland. In Presbyterianism, local congregations are governed by Sessions, which are made up of representatives of the congregation called elders and the pastor of the church. Elders are ordained to this office for the purpose of giving pastoral care to the local congregation (Click here to see St. Andrews Church Officers). In this form of church government, there are other levels of leadership and accountability called the Presbytery and the General Assembly. The Presbytery is made up of all the teaching elders (pastors) and the churches in a given geographical area. The General Assembly is representative of all of the churches in the denomination (PCA).