As used in scripture, "Presbyteros" describes the custom of the early Christian church to organize themselves in such a way that people who had a wealth of life experience were chosen to act as a governing body and made decisions about the day to day life of the congregation. In other words, they elected a committee of wise people to lead the church.

When working as a reformer in the 1500s, John Calvin adopted this model of church government and began the tradition that would become known as the Presbyterian Church.

The name "Presbyterian" describes our form of government within the church which continues the tradition of the congregation electing from its membership those who have demonstrated leadership qualities to make decisions about our life and mission together. These groups of "Elders" known as the Session of the church no longer need to have grey beards and are normally a mixed group of men and women of varying ages.

If this sounds like representational government to you, you've got the picture! In fact, many of the framers of the Constitution of the United States were Presbyterians and they borrowed heavily from their church background to develop the structure of our nation's government.

Presbyterians also emphasize the importance of education, as we believe that God has given us brains with which to think and reason for the benefit of humankind. Across the globe, multiple respected schools of higher learning were established by Presbyterians and are still in covenant with the church. These include Princeton, Purdue, the University of Dubuque, and the University of Tulsa, just to name a few.

Presbyterians are also great believers in being involved in the life of their communities. High percentages of our members serve in school boards, city councils, boards of supervisors, state legislatures, even the U.S. congress and Senate. Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Ronald Reagan were Presbyterians and the only minister to sign the Declaration of Independence was John Witherspoon (although at least 14 of the other signers were also Presbyterians).