The World Council of Churches (WCC) is an international fellowship of Christian churches, built upon the foundation of encounter, dialogue and collaboration. The WCC was formed to serve and advance the ecumenical movement - the quest for restoring the unity of the church - by encouraging in its members a common commitment to follow the gospel. The prayer of the churches which belong to the WCC is for the renewal and faithful response of the people of God in witness and service to the world.
The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 342, in more than 100 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the assembly, which meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Its staff is headed by general secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany.

APRODEV is the association of the 17 major development and humanitarian aid organisations in Europe, which work closely together with the World Council of Churches.
APRODEV agencies engage in many kinds of activities related to development cooperation: fund raising, funding of emergency, relief, rehabilitation and development activities, capacity building, consultancy, awareness raising, education, and advocacy. APRODEV agencies channel every year around Euro 500 million to project partners in the South. Some 40 per cent of this comes from private sources.