These days, we hear a lot about artificial intelligence (AI). While it has its pitfalls, it can be helpful in the ministry setting. In this article, Rev. Bill Johnson answers some common questions about AI in ministry and offers advice for getting started.
Getting Started
What exactly is AI, and how is it different from using a search engine?
AI as a concept has been around for years, both in science fiction and, to a certain degree, in the real world. When we talk about AI today, however, most folks mean what are technically called large language models (LLMs). These are machine learning algorithms that have processed massive amounts of content and are capable of generating responses to human questions based on that content.
To be clear, though, there’s not a “brain” somewhere behind this process, understanding and operating in the same way a human would. There’s a statistical model that says things like “In response to a question about Lutheran theology, in 95% of the manuscripts the next words after Law are and Gospel.” Then they use those models to compose a response to the question.
It does end up feeling very human to us, however, and these LLMs are capable of processing a massive amount of data much more quickly than humans could. Just don’t mistake AI responses for actual thought.
Why should church workers care about AI now? Isn’t this just another tech trend?
On the one hand, AI is definitely another tech trend. But over time, some tech trends have a way of becoming part of the mainstream culture. I remember sitting in the computer lab in college with a very early version of Mosaic, browsing some of the early pages in the just-created World Wide Web. I wasn’t impressed, and I figured no one would ever use this thing when TELNET and Gopher (early mainframe connection methods) were so much faster. I am comfortable admitting I may have been mistaken.
AI has all the earmarks of a transformative technology. Change in technology tends to be incremental and then very suddenly transformative. This is one of those transformative seasons, and the technology we’re seeing now will transform human lives in much the same way that the Web did.
What are some safe, entry-level AI tools church workers can start experimenting with today?
First, let’s understand that no AI tool is entirely safe. You're not going to accidentally build a robot army and exterminate humanity, but there are risks. The most valuable commodity in the world today is data, especially unique data that your competition doesn’t have access to. As companies have trained these models, the publicly available datasets are all largely consumed, so companies are hungry for more unique data. One easy fresh data source is the data consumers are feeding into the models to analyze. That’s fine if you’ve consented to that, but once your data becomes a part of the training set, it’s possible for that data to reappear in the response to another query by another user down the road.
Take, for example, the pastor who wants to clean up his mailing list by asking AI to format it for him consistently. To do that, he has to give the AI access to that data, and the AI, in turn, incorporates that into its learning. Some time later, another user inquires about sample data for their new church management software, and the pastor’s data, now part of the model, becomes part of that response, violating members’ privacy.
Most of the AI companies have gotten better about protecting personally identifiable information, but it’s always good for users to be aware of the value of their data and the possible accidental exposure.
Paid plans generally include clauses that allow you to opt out of using your data for training purposes, making it possible to use AI with sensitive data without fear of accidental exposure. The top models as of this writing are ChatGPT5, Grok4, MS Copilot, and Google Gemini. All offer varying degrees of free and paid versions, but be sure to examine their data privacy policy before uploading anything to them!
Productivity & Admin Help
How can AI help me write better bulletins, newsletters, or announcements more quickly?
There are a couple of obvious starting points for using AI for church communication. The first is to eliminate the blank page syndrome. If, for example, I want to write an article familiarizing my members with the various special services we host during Lent and Holy Week, I could have some difficulty figuring out where to start. I could use AI to give me an outline, however, and even specify my audience and context. I probably won’t use exactly what it gives me, but it’ll give me a place to start and to work from.
A second key area is in the editing process. Once we’ve written the article, let’s run it through AI and ask for reactions, questions, and evaluations from our target audience’s perspective. It’s all well and good that we wrote about the Triduum, but if I never define it or let people know what it’s all about, I’ve missed the mark. AI can do a solid job of asking good questions to aid in revisions.
Another key place is in image generation. Most modern AI tools include some kind of image generation and do a reasonably good job at it. (Early versions had some significant issues with things like how many fingers to put on a human hand.) Now, to be clear, you’re not going to get pictures of your church or your members (hire a photographer if you want those!), but you can get some useful stock-photo-style images of whatever you can describe. One excellent power combination is to ask the text-based model to help you craft a prompt for the image generation. I’ve often done this based on a particular passage in Scripture, generally with good results.
What are smart ways to use AI with tools we already use, like Microsoft Word, Excel, or Google Docs?
This is the frontier we’re all in the middle of exploring. Companies are rushing to integrate AI in their products, but the results are pretty mixed right now. Microsoft has integrated Copilot into Office 365, but the results will vary. The same is true for Google’s Gemini and the Google Suite. The best advice I have right now is to try to use AI for very bite-sized, targeted use cases, not for large projects all at once. I’ve had substantially better results asking AI to summarize a document or two than asking for a full project plan. The same is true on the data side—AI is better at making small changes incrementally than seeing (remember, no brain!) the big picture and discerning the steps needed to achieve it.
Communication & Ministry Support
Could AI help improve our communication with members, like writing emails, texts, or social media posts?
Absolutely, but we have to be careful with it. There should always be a human in the loop. By that, I mean that AI should never be directly communicating with members without a human looking over what’s sent. AI can hallucinate (the polite, techy word for make stuff up completely), and it’s sometimes pretty clueless, so it needs a human brain involved.
Some folks feel that it’s a bit like cheating to have AI write the first draft of an email to a member or a social media post. I tend to agree somewhat, but I also recognize that the tools are there to make us more efficient at our work, just like all sorts of other tools. AI is great for first drafts, but remember to invest the time to edit and make it your own.
Are there ways AI can assist with sermon prep, Bible studies, or devotionals—without replacing the human voice (or Spirit)?
I can remember being in seminary and hearing discussions on campus about BibleWorks and Logos, which were just starting to get really good at parsing/translating Greek and Hebrew. The argument against the tool largely went, “But if we use shortcuts like this, then we’ll never learn Greek and Hebrew quite as well as doing it all by hand.” The other side argued, “But if it enables us to engage at a higher level than what we’re naturally able to, doesn’t that help make better sermons?”
Both were right and both were wrong. I’m happy to report that the learning of Greek and Hebrew has not stopped at either of our seminaries, but pastors have learned to integrate the tools into their preparation in much the same way as their fathers used concordances, lexicons, and other tools.
AI faces a similar conversation, and I expect a similar outcome. Just as the student who ONLY relied on Logos cheated his congregation and himself, so the pastor or church worker who over-relies on AI limits their own writing and creativity. For initial brainstorming (“Give me a list of ten ice breakers to use with an adult Bible study in rural Iowa.”) or for supplemental resources (“Give me a map of Judea as known to Herod the Great.”), it can be an incredible time saver.
With that being said, there’s absolutely no replacement for knowing the text and knowing your people. AI can help you get started or provide feedback, but ultimately, pastors do an excellent job of knowing their congregations, and AI is not going to replace that.
How can AI help us reach more people in the community, especially when we have a small team or budget?
Here again, I think it’s about brainstorming first drafts and evaluating. For example, a small communication team (or sole pastor) might benefit tremendously from a prompt like, “Design a six-week email and advertising campaign to promote this summer’s Vacation Bible School.”
In conclusion, just like in any area of life, discretion is necessary. I hope this perspective is helpful for you as you think about potential uses for and cautions of AI in your ministry.
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