If you’re a church leader, I’m sure you’ve seen the rise of AI in ministry. The science fiction of yesterday is now a present reality that’s not going anywhere. And if you don’t know much about AI or you don’t think it will have that big of an effect on the church, you’re already behind. Your congregation is likely already using it every day. And as a result, your church needs to be prepared for how AI will affect ministry in the days ahead.
AI is advancing and spreading so rapidly, it’s everywhere we go, whether we realize it or not. Our teams here at SecureGive are always finding ways to use AI to free up time and make things run smoother in our business. We have plans to implement an AI tool within our software to make donation management even easier for church leaders. So the purpose here is not to rebuke AI or condemn it, but to educate church leaders and ask some pressing questions about AI’s very real benefits, as well as its very real risks.
What is AI?
First off, let’s define what we mean by AI. What we’re talking about is Generative Artificial Intelligence, a form of machine learning that allows the machine to communicate, research, and predict based on a user’s prompts. Although this iteration of the technology is new, different versions of it have been around for decades. But as with every new advance in technology, like email, social media, and live streaming, it has already settled into a kind of normalcy thanks to the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, a large-language model that provides open-source generative AI.
Now many companies have AI models that utilize this same technology. And every time a new technology begins to normalize like this, the Church is able to find ways to use it wisely. But is AI something different? Does it require a different level of caution than all the other advances we’ve experienced?
If we can honestly look at where this technology is today, where it’s headed in the future, and what we see in God’s Word, there are some really surprising implications for pastors. So we’ll try to approach this topic with wisdom.
The Current State of AI in Ministry
Pastors are largely divided on AI. A Barna and Gloo study found that 77% of those surveyed believe God can work through AI, but 63% said they believe it can increase feelings of loneliness, and 72% believe it is a “concerning” issue. Christians in general are more cautious. A survey from the American Bible Society found that 68% of Americans don’t believe AI can promote spiritual health, and only 1 in 4 feels optimistic about its impact on faith.
But where is AI already showing up in ministry? Well, across the world, churches are already experimenting with AI. There are many pastors already using it for sermon study and quicker research, like finding the cultural context for a passage, finding historical interpretations, or brainstorming sermon ideas. These are tasks that used to take hours reading through books or listening to commentaries. Other churches are using AI-powered chatbots on their websites to answer questions about service times, directions, or ministry opportunities. For small churches or bi-vocational pastors, this kind of assistance provides more time for tending to people instead of paperwork.
On a global scale, Bible translation teams at Wycliffe Canada are accelerating their efforts to translate the Bible into new languages with the help of artificial intelligence. As of recording this video, Wycliffe has translated the Bible into about 2,500 languages, with only less than 700 languages that remain untranslated, a number that is decreasing rapidly.
The Limitations of AI in Ministry
Most of these cases are practical, the emphasis is more on utility than the content itself. But the line is blurry. What if AI is not just brainstorming and researching for a pastor, but also outlining, polishing, rewording? At what point does the sermon lose that unique touch of the pastor preaching it? We know the Holy Spirit works through our praying, our listening, our diving deep into scripture. So where SHOULD we have nuance in this conversation?
Well, let’s consider for a moment the ways AI absolutely does not compete with humanity. AI doesn’t fast. It doesn’t worship. It doesn’t foster relationships. And we can all agree it shouldn’t. Your sermon is made of two appeals: logos and pathos. Logos deals with structure, coherency, facts, and biblical and theological accuracy; pathos deals with humanity, empathy, relationships, and the discernment of the Spirit.
A fully AI sermon may be factually accurate (more on this later) but pastors are already reporting that fully AI sermons feel hollow. They’ve said that AI lacks the personal, Spirit-led conviction that comes from spending time with the Lord, and that AI can’t provide the empathy that’s necessary to relate with the people you’re preaching to. These are real cases where using AI entirely results in spiritual emptiness. And that matters.
What about fully AI-prompted church services? This is not just hypothetical. A church in Finland recently tried an entire Sunday service created by AI: sermon, music, visuals, even on-screen avatars of Bible characters. The attendance went up, but the attendees reported that the experience lacked warmth and human connection. Imagine that. These people walked away saying they felt that while AI could handle logistics and even entertainment, it can’t replace the relational aspect of Christianity.
Hallucinations, Plagiarism, and Bias
Now, on AI being “factually accurate,” there’s an issue that developers across all large-language models are working hard to fix right now, and that’s “hallucination.” Since these models are trained to predict the next best answer, they can “hallucinate,” which is when they confidently produce false information to the user. For example, let’s say, you ask a mode like Gemini for verses on anxiety, and Gemini provides a Bible verse that doesn’t exist but sounds right. Maybe the reference is wrong, or maybe the content itself is fabricated, combining ideas throughout scripture that sound reasonable.
Hallucination can also lead to misattribution. An AI tool may draw information directly from someone else’s work without providing the citation, causing you to unintentionally plagiarize another’s work. Generative AI is trained on the data decided by its programmers, so if you ever ask AI to make a moral or preferential judgment for you, that judgment will ultimately be subjective and prone to the bias of its programmers.
So, even in the cases where you might use AI for utility, like finding context for scripture or brainstorming message ideas, you still have to check your sources. A good comparison is Wikipedia. We all know it’s a great tool for finding information, but we have to ensure we comb through the sources, because it’s not peer-reviewed. Let’s say you want some research on the Early Church’s stance on baptism, so you ask ChatGPT to give you that information with direct links, and then you visit those links for yourself. Maybe a link to the Nicene Creed or a link to the works of early Church Fathers all to ensure those sources are reliable. You’re still saving valuable time with AI without giving it room to misattribute or fabricate. After all, even researching with Google Search can be a time-consuming task compared with the instant results AI gives you. Now, as of the time this article is published, hallucination is still a pretty concerning issue, but it’s one to keep an eye on because it’s improving swiftly.
Where Theology Meets Technology
But it’s not the practical uses of AI that carry the most concern. The spiritual aspect of this conversation is where the guardrails should come into play. So let’s look to the Word of God to see where our theology should be informing our technology.
Many church voices have brought this up before, but it’s always worth talking about, because it’s foundational. Genesis 1:27 introduces us to the Imago Dei, the doctrine that we are made in the image of God and thus we exist higher in the hierarchy of creation. This is a divine anthropology. It gives us value and assures us of our place in the world. We believe we are made to have unity with God, that we are members of His family as His sons and daughters. And we believe we are uniquely capable of moral reasoning, spiritual discernment, and relational love. So AI can imitate our patterns of speech and capture our creativity, but it does not and cannot bear God’s image, so it’s subordinate to us.
Why do I bring this up? Because in a world where AI is held in such high regard, we risk giving it undue value. People are already using AI for deeper, daily conversation, telling AI their problems, gathering advice from it, treating it like a therapist, asking it for spiritual encouragement, and even designing AI models that can role-play as Jesus. And this is the slippery slope.
A controlled study showed that high usage of AI chatbots to replace human connection increases loneliness dramatically. It’s pretty easy to see the writing on the wall. Replacing the humans around us, and replacing God Himself, with the weak crutch of AI can be debilitating.
Through the prophet Isaiah, God delivers a biting satire on idolatry. He describes a carpenter cutting down a tree, burning one half to warm his body and cook his food, and the other half as a man-made idol to bow down and worship, proclaiming it as his god. This scene exposes our most precious idols as human artifacts: products of exhausted, finite hands. Isaiah describes the carpenter as ignorant and lacking in discernment for creating his own pitiful god out of the same wood used to warm and feed him, rather than worshiping Israel’s living Creator who made that tree to begin with. Isaiah says the carpenter has been so deceived by his own creation that he can’t even ask, “Isn’t this thing in my right hand a lie?” (Isaiah 44:9-20).
So, there’s nothing wrong with using wood to cook a meal or stay warm. God has given us hands and materials to create. But what happens when our creations, in their limited utility, become our savior? Idolatry is the same danger we’ve always faced: replacing Creator with creation. So the question for pastors is: Which parts of ministry are about resources and efficiency, and which parts are about spiritual discipline? Shepherding a church is not just about delivering information. It’s about walking alongside people, carrying burdens, and following the Spirit’s lead and the vision God has imparted to you. You can’t replace the realest parts of your ministry with something fabricated.
The Responsibility Pastors Carry with AI
AI is advancing quickly, offering us the tools to make life easier than ever. Admins can use this to save time with the finances, budgets, and planning of your church. All great things. But there’s a risk that comes with your ministry jumping into this fast-paced technology without slowing down to discern things. Pastor and Christian apologist Gavin Ortlund used the words “intelligence outpacing wisdom.” Again, I’ll bring back the fundamental lessons of Genesis. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve are introduced to forbidden knowledge, the freewill to seek that knowledge, and ultimately the temptation that comes with that convenience (Genesis 3).
So in the modern world, when we see knowledge so conveniently offered to us, like with AI, we should be taking a moment to pause, pray, and seek understanding from the Lord. Knowledge is not bad in and of itself, but we always have to make sure we’re aware of what we’re surrendering to gain that knowledge. Our calling is ultimately not to be more informed but to trust God. Intelligence must always follow wisdom.
As we think about the many opportunities and challenges AI will offer, I’ll ask this again: Is AI something different from other technologies the Church has had to adapt to? And here’s the truth. In many ways, AI is the same. It will continue to normalize, and we’ll soon have a clearer picture of everything it affects. But AI is different in one critical way: it doesn’t just offer the capacity to deliver our message, it offers the capacity to create our message.
So we have to begin prompting ourselves and others to really take a look at AI, try it out, and understand how it works. And don’t be afraid of it. But be cautious. And be open to discussing AI with other church leaders, to asking your congregation to be discerning, and to finding out where AI can eliminate the tedium of everyday tasks. But at the same time, be aware of where AI may already be distracting believers from, and even replacing, our spiritual wellness.
And my prayer for you is to seek wisdom and pray for AI to help the Gospel reach new people, but not to become a means to an end. Something to ask yourself is: “Where can I use AI to help with numbers, data, organization, communication, and other areas where my church is wasting time and money so that I can actually invest more time in the uniquely human things about ministry: people, discipleship, studying, and teaching?”
With as many impressive things as AI can do, it cannot replace the heart of your ministry. And that’s the calling to share the Gospel through the voice of your own imperfect humanity. That’s the greatest responsibility you have. Pastor, you carry the brightest light in this world. It’s the light of heaven, and it’s more powerful and personal than any machine. Our God is so much bigger than our creations, and we are his greatest vessels to share His character. As the culture shifts, as new distractions are offered to fill the void in people who are desperately craving meaning, you can offer them the alternative: the knowledge, the wisdom, and the hope of knowing Jesus Christ above all else.
Want to Dive Deeper?
SecureGive’s Greg Manz and Damion Dawson, who also serves as a bi-vocational pastor, recently sat down for an in-depth conversation about why pastors should be informed about AI, how to address it from the pulpit, and how to discern its place in ministry.
Watch the full video here.