AI in the Church: A Tool, Not the Source

Artificial intelligence is everywhere.

Depending on who you talk to, AI is either going to solve all our problems or create a whole new set of them. And within the Church, there are understandable questions about where AI belongs, how it should be used, and whether it should be used at all.

I use AI.

I use it regularly in creative work and ministry. But I think the key is understanding what AI is and what it isn't.

AI is a tool.

And like every other tool available to the Church, its value depends largely on how we use it.

Why I Use AI

One of the biggest reasons I use AI is simple: speed.

Church ministry is filled with small tasks.

You need a Facebook post about Sunday's service. Someone needs a description for an upcoming event. You need five ideas for a sermon-series graphic. The children's ministry needs a worksheet. Someone forgot to write the announcement for Wednesday night. You need to turn three paragraphs of information into two sentences for the bulletin.

None of those things necessarily requires hours of creative work.

AI can help get them moving.

I also use AI as a jumping-off place.

Sometimes the hardest part of creating something is staring at the blank page. AI can give me ten ideas, and I might dislike nine of them. But the tenth makes me think:

"That's not quite it...but what if we did this?"

And suddenly I'm creating.

That's one of the places where I think AI can be incredibly useful. It doesn't have to provide the finished product. Sometimes it simply helps you find the starting point.

AI Shouldn't Replace What God Has Put in Your Hand

This is where I think we need some balance.

AI shouldn't replace prayer.

It shouldn't replace studying Scripture.

It shouldn't replace relationships.

It shouldn't replace the unique voice of your pastor or ministry.

And it certainly shouldn't become a substitute for the gifts, creativity, wisdom, and experience God has placed within the people in your church.

AI can generate a sermon outline. But AI hasn't been called to pastor your congregation.

AI can write a children's lesson. But AI doesn't know those children or parents.

AI can create an announcement. But it doesn't understand your church's community the way you do.

Use AI to assist the work, not replace the people doing the work.

Practical Ways Churches Can Use AI

There are actually dozens of small, everyday tasks where AI can save church staff members and volunteers significant amounts of time.

Communication: Turn event information into bulletin announcements, Facebook posts, emails, text messages, website descriptions, or newsletter copy. The same information can quickly be adapted for several different audiences and platforms.

Sample Prompt:
“Our church, Generations Community Church, is hosting a Fall Family Night on Sunday, October 18, from 5:00–7:00 PM. The event will include inflatables for children, games, hot dogs, a dessert table, and live music. The event is free and open to the entire community. We especially want our church members to invite friends, neighbors, and families who may not normally attend church. Turn this information into a short bulletin announcement, a Facebook post, an email to our church family, a text-message reminder, and a short description for our website. Keep the information consistent, but adjust the length and tone for each platform. Make the communication warm, welcoming, and community-focused without sounding overly promotional.”

Brainstorming: Generate ideas for sermon series titles, event themes, children's activities, volunteer appreciation ideas, outreach opportunities, small-group questions, social-media content, or creative illustrations.

Sample Prompt:
“Our church is planning a four-week sermon series about trusting God during seasons of uncertainty and change. The series will focus on how God remains faithful even when our circumstances change. Our congregation includes young families, senior adults, teenagers, and people who are fairly new to church. Give me 12 possible sermon series titles with a short tagline for each one. Include some that are simple and straightforward and others that are more creative. Also suggest a few visual themes that could work with the strongest titles. Keep the ideas appropriate for a multigenerational community church.”

Editing: Take something you've already written and ask AI to shorten it, clarify it, proofread it, make it friendlier, or adapt it for a different audience while maintaining your original message.

Sample Prompt:
“I wrote the following announcement for our church volunteers: “We really need everyone to make sure they are arriving on time on Sunday mornings because we have been having some problems getting everything ready before people start coming in. Please try to be here by 9:15 so we can make sure everything is ready before the service.” Rewrite this so it sounds warm, appreciative, and encouraging rather than corrective. Keep the request to arrive by 9:15 AM clear. I want our volunteers to understand why being on time matters while also knowing how much we appreciate their service. Keep it short enough to send as a text message.”

Planning: Create initial checklists, timelines, volunteer schedules, event-planning frameworks, meeting agendas, training outlines, or project plans.

Sample Prompt:
“Generations Community Church is planning a community Christmas event on Saturday, December 12. We expect approximately 200 people and will use our sanctuary, fellowship hall, lobby, and outdoor areas. The event will include children's activities, refreshments, Christmas music, family photos, and a short presentation of the Christmas story. We have a small staff and will rely heavily on volunteers. Create a planning timeline beginning eight weeks before the event. Include major deadlines, volunteer needs, communication and promotion, facility preparation, technology needs, supplies, setup, event-day responsibilities, and follow-up. Organize it so our ministry team could use it as the starting point for an actual planning meeting.”

Training: Help develop basic instructions and quick-reference guides for volunteers learning presentation software, sound equipment, livestream systems, check-in procedures, or other ministry processes.

Sample Prompt:
“Create a one-page beginner's guide for volunteers who will operate our church presentation computer on Sunday mornings. We use ProPresenter to display song lyrics, Scripture, sermon points, announcements, and videos. Most of our volunteers are comfortable using a computer but have never used presentation software in a live worship service. Explain what they should do when they arrive, what they should check before the service, how they should follow the worship leader and pastor during the service, and what they should do when the service ends. Include a short troubleshooting section for common problems such as displaying the wrong slide or losing track of where the worship leader is in a song. Keep the language simple and reassuring. Do not give software-specific technical instructions unless you are confident they are accurate.”

Children and Student Ministry: Brainstorm age-appropriate discussion questions, games, review activities, worksheets, object lessons, or ways to reinforce a lesson that ministry leaders have already developed.

Sample Prompt:
Our children's ministry is teaching elementary students about David and Goliath from 1 Samuel 17. The main point of the lesson is that we can trust God when we face situations that seem bigger than we are. The children are in grades 1–5, and we usually have between 15 and 25 students. Give us five discussion questions, two active games, a simple object lesson, a review activity, and a take-home idea that families can use during the week. Everything should reinforce the lesson our children's leader has already prepared rather than introduce a different lesson or theological emphasis. Keep the activities inexpensive and realistic for a small church children's ministry.

Creative Ministry: Explore concepts for graphics, videos, stage designs, promotional campaigns, sermon illustrations, or visual themes before investing significant time in a finished product.

Sample Prompt:
“Generations Community Church is preparing an Easter sermon series called “Alive.” The central idea is that the resurrection of Jesus changes how we understand hope, life, and our future. We want the creative direction to feel hopeful, modern, and powerful without looking like a concert advertisement. Develop three different creative directions for the series. For each direction, describe the main visual concept, imagery, possible colors, photography or video ideas, stage elements, social-media graphics, and a short promotional video concept. Explain how each creative direction connects visually to the message of resurrection and new life. We are brainstorming at this point, so focus on concepts rather than trying to create a finished design.”

Administration: Summarize meeting notes, organize information, create templates, draft forms, develop FAQs, or turn a collection of scattered ideas into something usable.

Sample Prompt:
“Below are rough notes from our church staff meeting. Organize them into clear meeting notes that we can send to our ministry team.

Fall Family Night is October 18. Sarah is checking on inflatables. We still need someone to coordinate food. Pastor Mark wants the worship team outside if weather permits. Need to check whether we have enough extension cords. Children's check-in has been getting backed up around 9:45 on Sundays. Jason suggested adding another tablet. Christmas planning meeting needs to happen sometime next month. We need three more volunteers for the nursery. Website needs the new Wednesday night schedule. Michelle will contact nursery volunteers.

Organize these notes into major topics, decisions that were made, action items, people responsible, unresolved questions, and upcoming deadlines. Do not assume that something was decided if the notes do not clearly indicate a decision. Finish with a short list of the most important next steps for the staff”.

And one of my favorites:

"Here's what I have. Help me figure out what I'm missing."

That can be incredibly valuable.

The 80/20 Approach

One way to think about AI is allowing it to help with the first 80 percent of certain routine tasks so you can spend your energy on the 20 percent that requires your voice, your experience, your relationships, and your discernment.

Maybe AI creates the first draft of an announcement in 15 seconds.

Great.

Now you spend 2-5 minutes making it sound like your church.

Maybe AI gives you 20 ideas for an event theme.

Great.

Your ministry team decides which one actually fits your people.

Maybe AI organizes a volunteer training outline.

Great.

Your experienced volunteers add the things they've learned from actually serving.

That's the difference between using AI and depending on AI.

Small Churches May Have the Most to Gain

This is especially important for smaller churches.

A church of 100 people probably doesn't have a communications director, graphic designer, copywriter, administrative assistant, social-media manager, IT specialist, curriculum developer, and creative director sitting around the conference table.

Sometimes all those jobs belong to three people.

Sometimes they belong to one.

And sometimes they belong to a faithful volunteer who has a full-time job somewhere else.

AI doesn't suddenly give that church a ten-person staff.

But used wisely, it can give those people tools that help them accomplish some tasks much faster.

And that means they have more time for the things technology cannot replace:

People. Ministry. Relationships. Discipleship. Community.

Keep the Tool in Its Proper Place

I don't think the question for churches should simply be, "Should we use AI?"

We've asked similar questions about websites, social media, presentation software, livestreaming, digital giving, text messaging, and countless other technologies.

A better question might be:

"How can we use this tool wisely to support the mission God has already given us?"

AI doesn't know your calling, your congregation, or your community. And it doesn't replace the creativity, gifts, experiences, relationships, and spiritual discernment God has placed in your church.

But it can help you write that announcement faster. It can help you get past the blank page. It can organize your scattered thoughts and it can give you ten ideas when you currently have zero.

And sometimes that's exactly what you need.

At IH3 Designs, our philosophy begins with a simple question:

What's in your hand?

AI is simply one more tool that can be placed there.

The important thing is remembering that the power isn't in the tool. It's in what we choose to do with it.