God’s Timely Gift, Friend, and Colleague

ChinaSource Team • August 13, 2025

Stone pathway leading toward a pagoda, surrounded by lush greenery and mist-covered mountains in the background. Photo by Dong Xu on Unsplash
Image credit: Photo by Dong xu on Unsplash. Licensed for use by ChinaSource.

We have been praying and planning for quite some time to find God’s person for our brand-new vice president of operations position. ChinaSource’s ministry has grown to such an extent that we have been looking for a unique individual to consolidate and lead internal-facing functions to better support our external-facing ministries. God wonderfully led us to Aaron Settle who is skilled, experienced, and called to this position. As you read his story, I think you will see why we are so thankful for Aaron and for the opportunity to serve with him. He is truly God’s timely gift, friend, and colleague. Thank you for praying for Aaron and the ChinaSource team in the days ahead!

Kerry Schottelkorb
President

Introducing Aaron Settle

A photo of Aaron and Trina.

I was raised on a dairy farm in Upstate New York, in a strong Christian family with deep roots of faithful service. Having multiple extended family members who were lifelong missionaries, I grew up with a great respect for missions and a global kingdom perspective. After a year of study at a state university, I realized I needed to get serious about my desire to serve the Lord with my life and enrolled in Bible college at Elim Bible Institute. 

It was while a student there that I took my first mission trip, a six-week mission trip with a youth team to Nepal. This trip birthed in me a heart to engage with and reach the Tibetan world. After returning to Bible school, I soon after met my wife, Trina, who also was called to missionary service. Together, we connected with a ministry focused on the unreached minority people groups of Southwest (SW) China and began our preparations for missionary service. We left for Asia just 19 months after being married, to begin what would be 12 years of living in SW China. While there we studied the Chinese language, traveled into mountainous areas for ministry, as well as connected with students living in the city where we were studying. We were also blessed with regular connections with the growing Chinese church and were a part of working with them to extend their reach into the minority unreached areas. 

During our time in China, our family also grew, adding three children — Isaac, Isabelle, and Eden. After 12 years, as our family grew, it became apparent that it was time for us to return to the US. We returned to the US but knew that our calling and ministry was not finished. After a few years of transition, we moved to work with the sending organization that we had served with. I took a role as the assistant director of global ministries for Elim Fellowship. In this role, I was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the organization, providing care and logistical support for over 120 missionaries around the world. I was blessed to be a part of a collaborative team, working together to develop new initiatives and strengthen the hands of those we served. 

Through each of my roles and experiences over the past 25 years of ministry, I have seen the power that comes through collaboration. I have gained great appreciation for how God has placed us in the body to function in our giftings and strengths in partnership with those he has joined us with to see greater effectiveness for his kingdom. I was blessed to see this in action in my early years of China ministry, having worked in a city that saw incredible partnership and togetherness across many diverse organizations. This developed in me an understanding of the value and importance of kingdom partnerships, and I have sought to build partnerships wherever I go. 

Now, in my role with ChinaSource, I have been serving with the team for three months. I have been so blessed to be a part of such a strong team, and hope that my ministry operational experience will be a great blessing to help propel ChinaSource into the future with greater effectiveness and efficiency! 

Ways to Pray

Praise

Prayer

  • Please pray for Aaron Settle for wisdom, faith, courage, and peace in his new role as ChinaSource vice president of operations. Pray also that the ChinaSource team will follow the direction of the Holy Spirit and serve as one in Christ.
  • Please pray for the empowerment of the Chinese church due to an increasing “global shift toward polycentric missions.” See When Chinese Missionaries in Thailand Act Together: A Reflection on Myanmar Earthquake Relief, August 5, 2025 Blog Entry, by the ChinaSource Team.
  • Please pray that the global church will consider and learn from the stories of faithfulness in the Chinese church in the mainland and diaspora. Please see Stories You May Have Missed, March 25, 2025 Blog Entry, by Brent Fulton.

News and Notes

ChinaSource Team News

  • On August 6, Joann Pittman led an online book club discussion for our partner, ERRC, on the book, A Star in the East: The Rise of Christianity in China. 
  • On June 26, 2025, Andrea Lee was a guest on Rev. David Doong’s 使命門徒 Podcast (Missional Discipleship Podcast), offering a behind-the-scenes look at exploring Chinese Christianity through humble listening, cross-cultural empathy, and thoughtful storytelling—an exciting opportunity to deepen connections with the Chinese-speaking world. Listen here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1623208/episodes/17352286

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Written, translated, or edited by members of the ChinaSource staff.          

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