Elders are found in the churches of Judea and the surrounding area (Acts 11:30; James 5:14,15). Elders governed the church in Jerusalem (Acts 15). Among the Pauline churches, leadership by the plurality of elders was established in the churches of Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch (Acts 14:23); in the church at Ephesus (Acts 20:17; 1 Tim. 3:1-7; 5:17-25); in the church at Philippi (Phil. 1:1); and in the churches on the island of Crete (Titus 1:5). According to the well-traveled letter of 1 Peter, elders existed in churches throughout northwestern Asia Minor: Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia,
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