Artificial Intelligence is finding its way into local church ministry.
Here are five perspectives from ministers using AI in the context of their responsibility:
Stephen Young
Name: Stephen Young, pastor
Church: Shiloh Baptist Church
City: Mount Juliet
Using: Chat GPT, Claude AI, Midjourney, Ideogram.ai, leonardo.ai, Sermon Shots
Why did you begin using AI? I was curious about it and assume my church members are too. And if I’m anxious or worried about it, aren’t my church members as well? So, I thought I might as well dig in and learn about what this is.
How has AI helped you multiply your ministry? At my previous church I was a solo pastor, so AI helped me create a look of professionalism on some of the things I produced, using it mostly for graphics. I now also use a service called Sermon Shots that links to uploaded videos, like sermons. It uses an AI system to suggest points that are clear, concise, cohesive and self-contained and will create a one-to-two-minute video clip that I can post to our Facebook page. It takes very little time to do.
How do you use AI in research? I wanted to research the influence of Christianity on Western culture and its positive influence in comparison to every other worldview or religion. There were [a few] books I found that looked helpful. I only had time to read one, so I asked ChatGPT to compare them. After about 20 minutes of interacting with the AI to refine my need, it listed the books in order of recommendation. I took the first recommendation and it’s been an excellent book.
How would you respond to people concerned about your use of AI? One thing I’d share is that I’m not dependent upon AI other than for the clerical help, graphic design, the video clips, the wordsmithing, editing, and those kinds of things. But there are some people who will just look at that and say, I’m scared of where this is going to go. And I don’t know that I have the clearest of answers for people, but I’ll just describe AI as a tool. It has its limitations but it also has its benefits.
Matthew Jones
Name: Matthew Jones, pastor
Church: First Baptist Church
City: Middleton
Using: Chat GPT
What first prompted you to consider incorporating AI tools into your ministry, and how did you approach this decision spiritually? I heard about AI tools, specifically ChatGPT, around three years ago. I was hesitant to use it since it was an unknown commodity for ministry. I asked fellow pastors if they used it and what sort of safeguards they had to keep AI from becoming a crutch or a substitute for good, principled, traditional sermon preparation. In addition to this, I prayed that the Holy Spirit would guide me in the use of AI so that I would not dishonor the Lord in the use of this tool.
What is a specific example of how you’re currently using AI in your sermon preparation? In terms of sermon preparation, I have used AI to assist with the occasional sermon outline. I see it as an extension of some of the books I own and online databases I use such as Logos. Having the ability to use these tools in conjunction has been helpful for me personally.
What boundaries have you set around AI use in your ministry? I use AI as a tool rather than as the primary job itself. It can be easy for a pastor to take the easy road, with AI or anything else in ministry. I have committed to using physical media in my preparation for sermons. To substitute a paraphrase of a group of commentaries that an AI bot has put together is a poor substitute for reading the work that our forefathers have completed through guidance of the Holy Spirit.
What advice would you give to other Tennessee Baptist pastors who are considering using AI in their ministries? My advice would be to seek out the Lord before you use AI (or do anything for that matter). Don’t be afraid of it just because it is new. Remember, the printed Bible was once the new thing.
Any other thoughts you’d like to share? AI is going to become a larger entity in the lives of people around the world, and this will inevitably include churches. By being at the forefront of it, [Christians] can help shape its future. But if we are completely and utterly resistant to it, we will find that bad actors in the world will begin to use it against us and the Lord.
Maeve Smith
Name: Maeve Smith, church social media administrator
Church: Salem Baptist Church
City: Dayton
Using: ChatGPT, Magic School AI
How do you incorporate AI into your church’s social media strategy? AI has incredible uses for social media and event planning. While it has its limitations, I use AI for inspiration in creating concepts for social media posts, [photo] captions and for church events. I also used AI to develop church theme concepts for the year for members of our congregation to vote on.
What is a specific example of how you might use AI in a campaign? ChatGPT was very helpful in generating words like “Abide,” “Awaken,” and “Rooted” because I wanted something short and catchy [that I could] sprinkle across our church happenings for the year. From there, I scoured the Bible for key verses that could align with each potential theme. I then asked ChatGPT for event ideas that could coincide with the mission and verses of each theme. “Awaken,” for instance, centers on revival and renewal— which would be our primary goal in events and worship.
Why do you see AI as offering support to a church’s ministry? [AI] is an awesome brainstorming resource. It speeds up the process of generating ideas. With ChatGPT and other AI, you can describe your church environment, size, and focus, and it will take those factors into account when providing choices and ideas. In today’s digital age, media can be a make or break for churches. When your church is small, it’s difficult to find volunteers who have the time, resources, and knowledge to help. AI can be a wonderful tool for furthering the kingdom and getting a church’s name and message into the community.
What other AI do you think would be useful in a church setting. As a school teacher, one AI tool I use in the classroom is Magic School AI, which I would love to evaluate from a Sunday School or Bible study perspective. I hope to see it integrated into [church] classrooms. I would be curious to know if another Sunday School teacher has already tried this.
Cliff Marion
Name: Cliff Marion, pastor
Church: First Baptist Church
City: Covington
Using: ChatGPT
How have you weighed the spiritual implications of using AI in your ministry? I see AI as a tool like I do commentaries and other resources, including online resources. I’m not asking AI to do my job. I use AI to help me be better at my job.
How have you used AI in your pastoral role? I use AI administratively to craft an email, make a social media post or when I need to send a text message. I’ll type it and then insert into AI and ask it to make it more professional sounding, cleaning up the grammar and it also usually tightens up the words and sentence structure. It can take the edge off some of my messaging and helps articulate my thoughts in a softer way. That’s certainly a form of pastoral care.
How do you use AI with sermon preparation? I use it by putting in my sermon passage and asking it to give me some launching points. Most often I get back ideas for the direction I was already heading, but sometimes, AI will generate ideas that are like, “Oh man, I didn’t think about that angle.” It is like having a discussion with other pastors about sermon ideas and perspectives. It’s no different from accessing other research tools like commentaries.
What would you say to other pastors to encourage them to explore the use of AI in their ministries? I would tell them not to be afraid of AI and see it as an awesome resource at our disposal. There’s no need to demonize technology. Don’t get lazy and don’t let it do your job. However, use it to better yourself and to be more professional in improving your communication.
Chris Garner
Name: Chris Garner, pastor
Church: Holly Grove Baptist Church
City: Bells
Using: ChatGPT
Can you share specific examples of how you’re currently using AI in your sermon preparation? I use ChatGPT to create a weekly sermon-based discussion guide. After uploading my sermon (I use a manuscript, so that makes it easier) it gives me what I’m looking for. I had to tweak it initially to get the format that I wanted. I’ve also used it for “data retrieval” for sermon illustrations, not totally unlike a search engine, but far more comprehensive.
How do you maintain the personal, Spirit-led aspects of ministry while leveraging AI tools? The line I’ve drawn is that in union with and dependence on the Holy Spirit, I’m still the one creating the fresh content for ministry. As soon as I cross the line where AI is creating new content for me, I cease to be Spirit-led and become AI-led. That’s a line I do not cross.
How do you address questions or concerns from church members about the appropriateness of using AI in ministry contexts? For me, it is the question of ethics and the rather ambiguous question, “Where is the line?” The line I’ve drawn as it relates to ministry is that I won’t let AI create anything new. I am still the one creating the sermon, the lessons, the “words” for counseling, etc, in union with and dependence on the Holy Spirit. Once the content is created, that’s where AI comes in. If I’m using AI over the course of content development, it’s only used like a commentary or a Google search. I still craft the direction of the content.
