The overseer therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, modest, hospitable, good at teaching;
The elder was an "overseer." This implies he was over any other local church officials as well as other Christians in the church. There is no evidence in the New Testament that God intended overseers to govern groups of churches. A hierarchy did exist as long as the apostles were alive, but the New Testament reveals no provisions for the maintenance of such a hierarchy. However the absence of prohibitions concerning a hierarchy can also be an argument for it. I would conclude, therefore, that God neither condemned nor commanded organizations of local churches. It is a matter of choice whether churches want to band together in denominations or fellowships and submit themselves to overseeing officials.