Our History

Louis Edward Nollau with his family, circa 1858 or 1859.

We believe you need to understand where you’ve been to know where you’re going.

The Council for Health and Human Service Ministries is rooted in the predecessor churches of the United Church of Christ. After the 1934 merger that formed the Evangelical and Reformed Church, the Federation of Evangelical Charities and the Reformed Church’s 11 health and human service ministries joined to form the Commission on Benevolent Institutions of the Evangelical and Reformed Church in 1939.

The United Church of Christ was formed in 1957 by the merger of the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Church.

In 1961 the UCC formed the Council for Health and Welfare Services. Recognizing the necessity to be more directly involved with implementing UCC health and welfare programs, the Council incorporated in 1982 and changed its name to the Council for Health and Human Service Ministries (CHHSM).

CHHSM is a membership organization that is directed and supported by all the health and human service ministries recognized by the Conferences of the United Church of Christ. Our mission, on behalf of the entire church, is to sustain and advance the work of healing and service as a ministry of the church of Jesus Christ.

Today, dozens of UCC-related corporations operate hundreds of communities, programs and other agencies expressing the health and human service mission of the church. These include acute health care services, services to persons with developmental disabilities, services to children, youth and families, and services to the aging.