The healthcare ministries that were allowed by ACA have been around for >25 years. Your saying they never paid out a big claim?
I am saying for any of them you may be considering, you should go and review their financial statements - which all of them by law are required to make public. Most provide them right on their websites. Others you'll have to go digging to locate. What you'll see is that most all of them cannot handle large claims - it is financially impossible. The finances of most are stretched thin, with annual cashflow from premiums (or maybe they're termed "donations" since it isn't insurance) barely covering payouts. Their balance sheets are atrocious.
Many require the participant to go and negotiate with the healthcare provider. Beg and plead and claim they are destitute. Make excuses why they cannot pay. The ministry drags their feet, does not pay the claims (even the valid ones) in a timely fashion, and then the participant is financially obligated for the total bill. Read the NYT article linked above - there are many other horror stories online. When you have a claim denied by the ministry and exhaust all appeal options, you don't have the "luxury" of appealing to your insurance regulator - because they will not be there for you, as it is not insurance and is not regulated by your state as insurance companies are.
Most all participants are looking at it as insurance, because they cannot afford standard health insurance or are looking to skrimp and save some money, and see it as a cheap way to get coverage. That's the fact. Most would be better off getting a catastrophic plan and paying for the routine stuff out of pocket. The catastrophic plan from one of the major insurers will pay out the valid multiple $100k claim. There's absolutely no guarantee the ministry will. If/when the ministry doesn't, then the participant is left to deal with it and most cannot afford it, for the same reason they joined the ministry in the first place.
If it's so great, why are there healthcare providers refusing to accept patients who come in with it?
I'm really not looking to debate this. The topic comes up a few times a year and the facts are all out there. I've reviewed it previously as there was a time when I was intrigued by the possibility. As I dug, I saw that it is not all that folks get excited about and there's a very dark side to it. Go digging and you'll see for yourself.
The ministries exist for the sole purpose of skirting the health insurance system and laws, and that's more for the benefit of the ministry and those who run them than for the participants.
If after reviewing all of the material available online about the ministries and still are interested, go for it - I wish you and everyone else who opts for it the best.