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

Everyone knows that an orthodontist is concerned about straight teeth.  The “ortho” in orthodontist comes from the Greek word for “straight.”  The “dox” in orthodox comes from the Greek word for “teaching.”  Hence, in an Orthodox Presbyterian Church, you will find straight teaching that follows the long-accepted pattern given in the Bible.  The congregations of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church believe what the Bible says and try to put it into practice. 

The term “Reformed” is often used to identify the true Christian religion that was rekindled at the time of the Protestant Reformation in Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.  The Christians of that day rediscovered basic teachings of the Bible.  Any definition of the Reformed faith must focus on doctrine, because correct doctrine is vital to a growing relationship to God.  The Reformed creeds, confessions, and catechisms explain the gospel revealed by God, through Christ, in Holy Scripture.  The centerpiece of Reformed doctrine is that through the finished work of Jesus Christ God has established relationship with mankind through Jesus Christ.  The history of that relationship is revealed in the Bible, with Jesus Christ being at the center of the salvation story.