National councils and conferences
In 1910, at the time of the Edinburgh World Missionary Conference, there were only two national Christian councils. One of the objectives of the International Missionary Council (IMC), which was formed after the Edinburgh conference, was to encourage missionary societies to set up national conferences or councils for the coordination of their work. By 1948, thirty councils were members of the IMC. When the IMC merged with the WCC in 1961, these councils became affiliated with the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism. This relationship still exists. Thirty national councils of churches (or national Christian councils) were affiliated with CWME in 2005.
