General Assembly
The General Assembly is the highest governing body of the Presbyterian Church. It usually meets annually and consists of ministers and elders elected by the individual presbyteries from all over the United States. The responsibilities of the General Assembly include:

• overseeing the work of synods
• interpreting and approving changes either to the Book of Order or to the Book of Confessions
• making decisions which guide the Presbyterian Church in controversial issues such as the ordination of gays and lesbians
• coordinating the international mission efforts of the Presbyterian Church
• serving as the highest judicial body in the Presbyterian Church through its permanent judicial commission

Synod
Synods are composed of several presbyteries from a specific geographical area within the United States. For example, Grace Presbytery is part of the Synod of the Sun, and this synod includes presbyteries from Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. The responsibilities of a synod include:

• overseeing the work of presbyteries within its boundaries
• providing resources and guidance to the presbyteries within its boundaries which facilitate their mission programs
• organizing, dividing, or uniting presbyteries
• serving as the next highest judicial body through its permanent judicial commission when judicial decisions made by an individual presbytery are appealed

Presbytery
Presbyteries are composed of individual Presbyterian churches and ministers in a specific geographical region within a synod. First Presbyterian Church is a member of Grace Presbytery, which is one of eleven presbyteries in the Synod of the Sun. Most of the other churches which make up Grace Presbytery are in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metropolitan area, though the boundaries of Grace Presbytery extend as far north as Sherman, as far east as Texarkana, and as far south as Temple. The responsibilities of a presbytery include:

• overseeing the work of churches within its boundaries
• overseeing churches without pastors and helping them to acquire pastoral leadership
• overseeing the preparation of ministers for the ministry
• ordaining ministers, approving the hiring of ministers by local congregations, and dissolving relationships between ministers and congregations
• organizing new churches
• serving as the primary judicial body through its permanent judicial commission when judicial decisions made by an individual session are appealed

Session
Sessions are composed of individual elders elected from within a local congregation to govern that congregation. The responsibilities of a session include:

• receiving members into membership and approving changes in membership status
• approving baptisms
• overseeing the financial operations of the church, including establishing an annual budget and electing a treasurer
• examining, ordaining, and installing all newly-elected elders and deacons
• overseeing the management of all church property
• providing for worship in the church, including finding someone to preach and to administer the Sacraments on a regular basis
• electing elders to attend regularly stated presbytery meetings (Grace Presbytery has four such meetings per year)
• serving as the congregation’s permanent judicial council under circumstances in which a member or members are charged with defying or acting contrary to the provisions of the Book of Order