The service ministries of such agencies as Mennonite Disaster Service and the Mennonite Central Committee are not technically mutual aid. Even service to Christians of other denominations does not strictly fit the definition. Focusing on meeting material needs within the church is somewhat restrictive yet offers clarity of purpose and understanding. Human need proliferates around the world, and the gospel of Christ calls Christians to compassion. However, the Christian response of love to such need is service and charity, not mutual aid.
Mutual aid seeks to meet the special material and physical needs that arise among church members.
Prayer and support groups, counseling, and visiting do offer mutual support to believers but do not typically involve material aid. Although some of these needs may intertwine with material misfortune, the church's role in addressing them falls outside our understanding of mutual aid. Furthermore, although mutual aid is an expression of care in the midst of material hardship, its primary aim is not to create an egalitarian society or to promote a communal sharing of goods. Mutual aid is mutual aid. In this sense it involves both expectations and obligations.