Aid Agency and Missionary Organizations

Reliable partners

God’s unconditional love grants us the ability to love our neighbors unconditionally as well. “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.” (James 2:26) The church cannot be the Church of Christ if it does not act in accordance with this and bear witness to it. The churches have therefore founded organizations, over the centuries, dedicated to providing aid, hope, and a brighter future. The following three organizations are central to this mission within the Protestant Church in Switzerland PCS: Swiss Church Aid (HEKS/EPER), Mission 21 and DM.

Aid Agencies

The PCS has established the following aid organizations: Swiss Church Aid (HEKS/EPER) and Bread for All. In November 2021, the aid agency of the Protestant Churches in Switzerland (HEKS/EPER) merged with its sister church organization Bread for all to form Swiss Church Aid (HEKS/EPER). The newly constituted organization launched its operations on 1 January 2022. The merger of HEKS/EPER and Bread for All buttresses the position and competitiveness of the newly formed organization in an ever more competitive environment. At the same time, the effectiveness of projects and activities at home and abroad is enhanced. The linking of the two thematic areas of development policy and program work in Switzerland and abroad creates practical synergies. Among the bodies of the foundation of Swiss Church Aid are the PCS’s Council and Synod. The Synod elects the members of the foundations’ council, and one member of the PCS Council is ex officio a member of the foundation’s council.

Logo HEKS und Brot für alle

Swiss Church Aid (HEKS/EPER)

In over 30 countries on four continents, Swiss Church Aid HEKS/EPER supports development cooperation projects to combat poverty and injustice, and advocates for a life in dignity for all people. In parallel, HEKS/EPER also strives for systemic change through its development work – in Switzerland and worldwide. HEKS/EPER provides humanitarian assistance around the world for victims of natural disasters and armed conflicts and supports the diaconal work of churches in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Through its programmes in Switzerland, HEKS/EPER champions the rights and concerns of both people who are fleeing, and the socially underprivileged. HEKS/EPER projects promote help for self-help, are geared to the needs and resources of those concerned, and are implemented in concert with them. In its projects around the world and in its work of raising awareness around development and social policy topics in Switzerland, HEKS/EPER places the emphasis on the four priorities of climate justice, the right to land and food, flight and migration, and integration.
Go to SCA’s website

Missionary Organizations

The Protestant Church in Switzerland PCS works closely with two Swiss missionary organizations: Mission 21 and DM. While DM is sustained by the French-speaking member churches of the PCS, Mission 21 is supported by several missionary societies, without direct participation of the churches.

Exchange on the strategic direction

A common platform for exchange enables a deeper exchange on the strategic direction of the missionary organizations. In the framework of its Synods, the PCS creates moreover a platform for discussing the programs of Mission 21 and DM with the PCS member churches. It strengthens the churches’ sense of responsibility for the missionary organizations by collecting financial contributions for the latter.

Conference on External Relations

Those responsible for external relations in the aid agencies, missionary organizations and the PCS meet once a year to inform each other about their programs and to coordinate possible and desirable areas of cooperation – within the framework of the Conference on External Relations.

Dm

DM

DM is the service of the French-speaking Protestant Churches in Switzerland and implements projects on mission, education and collaborative development with its partner churches in the “South”.
Go to DM website
Mission2

mission 21

Mission 21 is a worldwide community of partner churches and partner organizations in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Together we have been committed for over 200 years to a life in dignity for all people. We are an international learning community and provide sustainable development cooperation including comprehensive opportunities for participation in the world-wide Church.

Mission 21 is supported by the Protestant Church in Switzerland PCS and by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). Mission 21 is recognized as a non-profit organization and certified by ZEWO (the Swiss organization for transparency in charitable foundations) and EduQua (the Swiss quality label for further education institutions).
Go to mission 21’s website

Contact

Damian Kessi, Senior External Relations Officer
T +41 31 370 25 51, damian.kessi@evref.ch