(2000) offers a concise summary of congregationalism: “Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes.” Congregationalism can be contrasted with presbyterian polity, which invests final authority in church courts made up of elders, and episcopal polity, which affirms the final authority of a bishop or bishops. Congregationalism carried over into the Baptist movement from the English Separatists. Most Anabaptist groups also practiced congregationalism, which may