Presbyterian Connectionalism Beyond the governance of local churches by elders it is important to note also that New Testament churches were connected or bound together by a common government. The principle of mutual accountability, dependency, and submission among the churches is taught at several places in Scripture, for example, in Acts 8:14, where the Jerusalem church sent Peter and John to investigate Philip’s work in Samaria, and in Acts 13:1–3 and 14:27, where missionaries were sent out by