Who oversees the congregation?

Not who appoints the pastor, but who the appointer is — whether oversight rests in a person or a council, how that office is obtained, for how long, and who can end it. A bishop with life tenure, a bishop facing re-election every six years, and a bishop appointed by an authority outside the country are three different arrangements that the word 'bishop' conceals.

A bishop, elected for fixed terms

• Anglican Church in North America

  Built from primary governing documents

• Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

  Partial — some structures are not publicly documented

• Global Methodist Church

  Built from primary governing documents

The institute's own superiors

• Catholic religious institutes

  Partial — some structures are not publicly documented

• The Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans)

  Built from primary governing documents

• The Society of Jesus (Jesuits)

  Built from primary governing documents

A board of directors

• Acts 29

  Partial — some structures are not publicly documented

• Hillsong Church

  Partial — some structures are not publicly documented

A council of elders, not a person

• Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

  Partial — some structures are not publicly documented

• Presbyterian Church in America

  Partial — some structures are not publicly documented

A bishop, holding office for life

• The Episcopal Church

  Built from primary governing documents

• The United Methodist Church

  Built from primary governing documents

Nothing above the congregation

• The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

  Built from primary governing documents

• The Southern Baptist Convention

  Built from primary governing documents

A bishop, appointed from outside the local body

• Roman Catholic Church — dioceses and parishes

  Partial — some structures are not publicly documented

Every grouping above is a nearest-fit label; the deviations are stated in each profile's prose. Why it is built that way.