Editor’s note: Caleb Ai says mercy ministry is a way for Christians to demonstrate to the world what it looks like to follow Jesus. Although Chinese believers face a lot of challenges in trying to organize and love their communities, engaging in acts of mercy is not optional for Christians. Mercy ministry is not primarily about results. Instead, it is about where the motivation to sacrificially serve comes from. Chinese house churches can’t always build big organizations (listen to our podcast for more on how they can love neighbors!), but Caleb says, when they show deep-rooted love for their neighbors, God can use that in big ways.
Passion Versus Calling
China Partnership: How did you personally become involved in mercy ministry? Are there any stories that have personally impacted you with this work?
Caleb Ai: To be honest, mercy ministry was not something I considered. I used to be a business consultant overseas. My whole career had nothing to do with mercy.
But mercy ministry was God’s calling – and at the beginning, I was not obedient. I struggled a lot. I had a lot of talks with God. I didn’t want to listen to him. But, as you know, calling is calling.
With mercy ministry, it’s about willingness. It’s also about where that willingness comes from. We use the story of the widow’s mite to challenge people… That widow, what she did is actually a way to reflect that she has a good relationship with God.
God sent me back to China. He started to close all the doors for me. For two years, I had an extremely sad and difficult time with the Lord. But he put me in this position, and finally, I started to listen to him. The message I got from him was, “I will give you an opportunity, and you will do whatever I tell you.”
Then I got a call from a friend, who told me he had an opportunity for me. And a few months later, I got an offer [to work with my current non-profit]. At the beginning, I had zero experience. I didn’t know anything about non-profits, and I didn’t have any passion for it. So, I guess passion is not important.
CP: Calling is important.
Caleb Ai: I think that’s true.
Mercy Ministry’s Real Challenge
CP: Are there any stories you can share about how God has been working, or something that really personally impacted you over the last 10 years or so?
Caleb Ai: Well, it’s still about calling. At first, I was alone in my work, and didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to leverage my consulting background into working with mercy ministries.
Never miss a story
Then, we started to survey Chinese non-profits to understand the challenges they are going through. Slowly but surely, I came to understand that, although most non-profits don’t have enough money or people, that is not the real problem. The real problem is they don’t know how to manage their ministries. They don’t know how to hire people, communicate with outsiders, how to fundraise. As a result, they don’t have enough money. We then started to design programs to solve those problems.
The real problem we are trying to solve is we want people not just to listen to the gospel – you have to practice it… As a Christian, you need to practice what you heard from the gospel. That’s the key.
When I began that process, I started to understand why God put me in this role – we needed someone who can bring non-profit leaders together, and who understands how to solve problems and equip leaders. Now, I have no questions about why God put me in this position. Everything is crystal clear to me.
A Chance to Practice the Gospel
CP: One more question. Like you said, China is a big country, and there are a lot of different churches in a lot of different situations. I know there are some churches and Christians who would be considered more marginalized.
I’m interested in what it looks like for a marginalized Christian to also continue reaching out to the marginalized? Or, it could be that the churches are small, and don’t have resources. I’m curious if you have anything else to say about that, because that is something that can be different in China compared to the U.S.
Caleb Ai: When we work with churches, we use the story of the widow’s mite a lot. When we use stories, we actually want people to see what is behind the story. With mercy ministry, it’s about willingness. It’s also about where that willingness comes from. We use the story of the widow’s mite to challenge people: “If you are not in a good relationship with God, we don’t think you have that willingness.” Our conclusion is that widow, what she did is actually a way to reflect that she has a good relationship with God. She is not just listening to the gospel; she actually practices the gospel.
This circles back to our ministry. It can look like we are just about helping Chinese non-profit leaders. But the real thing, the real problem we are trying to solve is we want people not just to listen to the gospel – you have to practice it. For us and for our ministry, being an NGO is just a tool. The key thing is that, as a Christian, you need to practice what you heard from the gospel. That’s the key.
We are here because we have something you need in order for you to practice your faith. We are here to invite you to do these things together.
That’s why, every time we talk to pastors, we say, “We are not here to fundraise. We are not here to grab resources from the church. We are here for two things.
“First, we are here because this is what the gospel tells us to do: to serve people in need. Second, we have resources for you, the church. We want you to join us, so we can do these things together.”
Sometimes pastors are hostile to us, because they are afraid. They think we are just coming to get money. So, every time I go to visit a new church, the first thing I say is, “We are not here for your money. We are here because we have something you need in order for you to practice your faith. We are here to invite you to do these things together.”
Caleb Ai (a pseudonym) leads a Chinese non-profit that works to bring Chinese Christians and Christian non-profits together.
Pray for Chinese house churches to live out the gospel, not just listen to it.
