The precursor to NCA was founded in October 1945, and was called the National Association of Congregational Aid (Menighetspleienes Landsforbund).

[1] The goal was to coordinate the joint social aid program of the Norwegian Church after the Second World War.

[2] In 2018 the Norwegian Church Aid and five other key NGOs organized the customary torchlight parade in Oslo in honor of that year's Nobel Peace Prize laureates, Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad, who were awarded the prize for their work to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.

[3] In October 1945, the National Association of Congregational Aid (Menighetspleienes Landsforbund) was founded by priest Conrad Bonnevie-Svendsen and dean Henrik Hauge.

[1] The Association was founded to coordinate the joint social aid program of the Norwegian Church after the Second World War.

In October 1947the Association decided to initiate a campaign in Germany to aid people impoverished from the war.

The humanitarian aid work of NCA was furthermore expanded to include refugees in Hong Kong, those affected by war in Congo, and survivors from natural disasters in both Algeria and India.

However, based on the argument that large parts of the world's population lived in permanent need, NCA began its first long-term development project in 1962, located in Abakaliki in Eastern Nigeria.

With the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1992 and the following conflicts in the Balkans, NCA once again returned its focus to aid European countries, sending water supplies and sanitary equipment to refugees in neighboring North Macedonia.

[7] With many escalating conflicts also marking the 1990s, peacebuilding and humanitarian projects was once again initiated in several countries in Africa and the Middle East.

In practice, this involved a downscaling of direct commitment from the NCA, and a larger focus on cooperation between partner organizations on a regional, national and international level.

Through the efforts and activism of both NCA and Changemaker, the Norwegian government cancelled remaining debts of Ecuador, Egypt, Jamaica, Sierra Leone, and Peru in 2006.

[11] In 2014, a program related to water and sanitary aid, climate economic efficiency as well as gender-based violence (GBV) was launched in areas of Iraq affected by conflict.

[12] Since 2017, NCA also resumed its operations in Nigeria, delivering humanitarian assistance in the conflict-affected north-east region of the country.

In order to address the root causes of poverty, NCA advocates for just decisions by public authorities, business and religious leaders.