Kerk in Actie came into being in 1953, when the Netherlands were hit by a flood disaster. Aid was sent from many parts of the world: Cameroon sent five kilos of clothing; Iceland sent frozen fish; Pakistan sent tea. Almost all of the aid was donated by churches abroad. This caused the churches in the Netherlands to start a programme that would benefit countries where major problems occur. The Department for International Aid was set up in 1956, with the aim of raising funds for international relief work within the Netherlands Reformed Church. The Reformed Churches in the Netherlands set up their World Aid Action department in 1960. Both church departments are forerunners of the present-day Kerk in Actie .

From the outset until 1999, the work of Kerk in Actie was carried out by the two Reformed offices and the Lutheran office for mission and world service, and for many years was known by the acronym ‘zwo’ (short for ‘mission, world service and development aid’ in Dutch). In 1995, it was decided to set up ‘Kerken in Aktie’ (Churches in Action) which, with the new name, was tasked with giving a new face to the work outside the churches. When, in 1999, the church offices and ‘Kerken in Aktie’ were brought together in the new national church office (‘service centre’) in Utrecht, ‘Kerken in Aktie’ became the name for the work both within and outside the churches. In December 2001, ‘Kerken in Actie’ changed its name to ‘Kerkinactie’: a small change in name coupled with a more substantial change in content. From then on, in addition to the work abroad, ‘Kerkinactie’ was the name also used for the work at home, in the Netherlands. In January 2007 Kerkinactie was renamed in Kerk in Actie.