MORE THAN A DISTRACTION?
A down-to-earth assessment of AI’ s use in ministry contexts
By Jonathan Smith
We would be remiss in a discussion about technologies that drive a new era in church leadership if we didn’ t mention Artificial Intelligence.
We are living through yet another life-changing technological evolution. The drastic rise in AI— and its use and application to our lives and ministries— has been compared to the invention of the cell phone and the proliferation of the internet. Both cell phones and the internet significantly impacted our lives, businesses, and ministries, but our memories tend to be short. Remember the early days of those technologies? Both were expensive and limited in availability. Both required expensive hardware. Both had serious reliability issues, and both were questioned regarding whether or not they were even viable for mass appeal. How far we’ ve come.
AI is in its infancy
The AI of today and the AI of five years from now won’ t be the same. The AI of the next generation might merely be a shadow of what we call AI today. Cell phones today can do just about everything, with making a phone call the least exciting feature. The internet today is built into almost everything— but do you remember the days of dial-up and hope? What is unique about AI is that even in its infancy, it is free and already available to anyone. That makes it quick to run to and use and affords it the opportunity for quick impact. As a result, it is clearly a tool that will drive a new era in just about every aspect of our lives on planet earth, including church leadership.
As we live through AI“ growing up”…
It is important to discern how best to use AI for ministry impact. Leaders have to lead, and the use and application of AI for ministry is one area where leadership must catch up.
• Do you have AI policies for staff, volunteers and boards?
• Do you offer AI training for staff, volunteers and boards?
• Do you provide approved AI tools for your ministry, or is it a free-for-all?
• Do you provide restrictions on what ministry data can be used with AI?
The AI evolution we are living through is one of the reasons I write and speak about AI frequently. As AI continues to empower a new era in church leadership, here are three things to do sooner rather than later.
# 1: Your ministry policies need to be updated to include acceptable use of AI for your ministry. Depending on how leadership is adopting AI, your policies might be simple or complex. The goal is that you have a policy for everyone involved with your ministry. What data you can use and where you can use it is a great place to start. Also remember that AI policies will have to evolve as AI itself continues to evolve. For leaders to lead, they must understand the difference in the various AI tools that are out there. Every AI LLM( large language model)— which is what makes AI work— is different. Each company offering AI provides different terms of service in terms of who owns the input and the output and whether or not the LLM can learn from
26 CHURCH EXECUTIVE | NOV / DEC 2025