Editor’s note: China, and the Chinese church, are far too big to generalize or simplify. Still, when talking about modern, urban house churches, it’s fair to say that there’s strong interest in mercy ministry, but there’s also overt tension. Many urban churches are seeking to sacrificially serve their cities. However, sometimes there is conflict between the role of verbally proclaiming the gospel, versus displaying the fruit of the gospel through good deeds.
Caleb Ai is a Chinese Christian who works to bridge the gap between these two groups. He believes there is no inherent conflict, but that mercy and explicit proclamation of the gospel are two sides of the same coin, and that both are necessary.
What Is the Goal?
China Partnership: The church is not an NGO; the church is something different. What role does the church have to play in mercy ministry in general? What role does the church have to play in the Chinese context?
Caleb Ai: China is huge. Most of the time, when I have this conversation, I say, “Let’s separate churches in China. We really can’t say, ‘the church in China.’ Let’s say, ‘city churches.’”
Most pastors of churches in the city agree that the church needs to get involved and have their own mercy ministries. But there are a few issues. First, how much do churches know about this work, in terms of operations?
Second, what is the goal? I meet a lot of pastors. These pastors tell me, “We can support faith-based NGOs. But you need to tell me how many people you can bring into the church, and how many baptisms.” Every time pastors bring up this subject, NGO leaders stop right away – because no one can guarantee how many people they can bring to the church.
This is the struggle. This is also one of the main topics every time we bring people from the two sides together. We have to clarify: what exactly is the goal for the church? What is the goal for the non-profit?
Pastors tell me, “We can support faith-based NGOs. But you need to tell me how many people you can bring into the church, and how many baptisms.””
Yes, Chinese pastors in the city agree they should do [mercy ministry]. But I would say that they have forced non-profits to accept the goals of pastors, not the goals of the non-profit. Non-profits say, “Of course we can share the good news with people, but we cannot make [them believe.] But pastors say, “We gave you money and resources, but this is the ultimate goal. If you can do that, let’s do it together.”
Preaching the Gospel, Meeting Needs
CP: One thing the people we have spoken with have in common is wrestling over the balance between preaching the gospel, and [meeting] needs. Is one goal higher than the other? Is caring for needs only for the purpose of sharing the gospel? Or, should you just care for needs and not share the gospel at all? I’m curious about your opinion.
Caleb: I’m not a pastor; I’m just speaking from my own understanding. When I look at the relationship between preaching the gospel and serving people in need, I think they are not in conflict. I think they are fulfilling the same mission from different angles.
Never miss a story
Let’s say you want to serve refugees. If refugees are hungry, they need food and they need shelter. But if you are a pastor, if you are a Christian, you are standing beside them and preaching the gospel with them. So, what do you do?
Of course, as a Christian, our goal is sharing the good news with people. But they need food and shelter.
That’s my understanding of the relationship between mercy and preaching. They are happening at the same time, fulfilling the same purpose from two different angles. They are working together; they are bundled together.
When I look at the relationship between preaching the gospel and serving people in need, I think they are not in conflict. I think they are fulfilling the same mission from different angles.
The priority is not set by us, but by the people in need. If someone is hungry or needs shelter, I think their priority is to get what they need.
We do a lot of trainings for non-profit leadership. In those trainings, we talk about the hierarchy of people’s needs. We have physical needs, and we also have spiritual needs.
Let’s say you are serving two different groups: one is homeless people, another is college students. These groups have their own priorities, and if you are serving them, you need to understand those priorities. The college students might not be hungry or homeless, so their physical needs are not very obvious. So, we can say, “Okay, we want to satisfy their spiritual needs.”
But if you look at homeless people, I think we need to satisfy their physical needs first, then we can move up to their spiritual needs. You have to look at the kinds of people you’re serving and their priorities. Don’t look at yourself – look at them, your target people.
The same is true for pastors. Ask, “What do the people need: spiritual or physical [help]?” And then, “What are our strategies?” For some, we need to give food first. If they don’t need food, we can look at their spiritual needs.
Remember the Purpose
But there’s another aspect. Faith-based NGO workers are serving people, but they need to think about the purpose of their ministry. We serve people because we love them and want them to know Jesus loved them – so, we have to bring that message. If time and the situation allow, we have to bring that message to them.
This is the problem. I have to say: a lot of faith-based NGO workers have forgotten to bring this good news through their work as a practice. This is true, and is a problem. That is why a lot of pastors criticize faith-based NGO workers: because they have forgotten to share the good news.
As a Christian, if you work for a non-profit, most of the time you are focusing on the service. Also, most of the time, you are surrounded by people who are screaming or sad. They physically take a lot of your attention and energy. A lot of people just forget, “The reason why we are serving these people is because we have a mission from God, who asked us to serve them. We’re doing this for him, and our service is a way of witness.”
A lot of faith-based NGO workers have forgotten to bring this good news through their work as a practice. This is true, and is a problem. That is why a lot of pastors criticize faith-based NGO workers.
But a lot of non-profit workers forget this principle, forget that their service is a way to witness. Sometimes they just consider that their work is their work.
Especially when the organization is experiencing difficulties, the mission is put to the test. If you have a mission, you can find ways to go through difficulties.
But I also see a lot of people who just leave. They just work. They forget that their service is a witness. Their mission has drifted.
Caleb Ai (a pseudonym) leads a Chinese non-profit that works to bring Chinese Christians and Christian non-profits together.
Pray for the Chinese church to simultaneously serve their neighbors and proclaim the gospel.
