Four ways I Regularly use AI for Ministry
Some practical daily use cases for AI in my role as a pastor
As someone with an interest in the intersection between faith and artificial intelligence, there are two questions I’m asked more than any other:
Is artificial intelligence good or bad for the Church?
How do you use AI right now?
Most of what I’ve written approaches the first question; indeed, that’s one of the primary questions that my book sought to answer.
However, I’m aware that I haven’t spent much time at all discussing the second question. In this article, I thought I’d explore some of the ways I use AI in my daily tasks. Let’s jump in.
AI in my daily tasks
1. Time Management / Productivity
I use an app called “Motion” for time management. In many ways, it’s very similar to other productivity apps out there (Todoist, ClickUp, Asana, etc.) but it differs in one particularly unique way: it schedules your tasks for you.
Using AI, Motion will analyze the tasks, deadlines, and estimated duration and automatically fit them into your calendar. You can even assign different “blocks” of time for tasks to be scheduled into. For example, in my world, I can designate tasks for my role as lead elder to take place during a particular set of hours, and tasks for my role as an academic advisor at a bible college to take place during a different set of hours.
There is a negative: Motion is outrageously overpriced. However, I’ve certainly noticed a marked increase in work efficiency as a result. It’s the sort of practical use of artificial intelligence that I love!
2. Content Summarization
I regularly use artificial intelligence (currently ChatGPT-4o) to summarize PDFs, website pages, book content, and YouTube videos. It must be said that I’m still not confident to take a large language model’s word for something without testing the information for myself, but it can certainly be helpful.
Perhaps the most useful recent example of this was in asking ChatGPT about some city bylaws. I fed an enormous document full of legal jargon into the LLM and could then ask specific questions about the information I was looking for, saving me significant time and effort. It was brilliant!
This process has also been highly useful in streamlining the research process for preaching and teaching. Caution must always be exercised, though!
3. Graphic Design
Although I spent a decade or so using Adobe for graphic design in our church contexts, I’m a big fan of Canva now. It has a growing suite of AI features like background removal (I use this a lot), magic edit (where you can literally replace one object with another - it’s crazy), instant brand application and an incredible ability to resize the project for different use cases (e.g. social media, presentations, posters, etc.).
Although these AI features may not seem particularly exciting, the amount of time I’ve saved by using them is staggering. It allows me to focus time on more important things in my duties as a pastor.
4. Sermon Preparation
Ok, let’s talk about sermons. Hear me out.
Firstly, I do not use AI to write my sermons. I think too highly of the privilege of preaching to do that.
However, I do make use of artificial intelligence at various stages of the preparation process.
For example, when I preach, I strive where possible to communicate “one thing.” You might know this as a “thesis statement.” There may be two or three subpoints or a more general exegesis where appropriate, but generally, I will try to communicate a single overarching idea in a single sentence. This is often the hardest part of my preparation process and comes after much prayer and careful study of the passage, but I’ve found it helps to bring clarity as I preach God’s Word. It can sometimes be very useful to bounce those thesis statements around with ChatGPT, asking for strengths and weaknesses or checking to see if it accurately conveys the crux of the passage.
[Disclaimer: I recognize that everyone preaches differently. This is personal, not prescriptive.]
One of the other areas I’ve found AI to be useful is after I’ve prepared the sermon. I like to run my early manuscript through a large language model like ChatGPT and ask several questions:
Is there a consistent, easy-to-follow, and logical flow to this sermon?
Where is this sermon strong, and where is it weak?
Are there any themes or concepts that might be either too complex or too brief for those who are immature in the faith or where English is a second language? (This helps me ensure that I either rewrite these sections entirely or approach them more carefully.)
My congregation consists of [insert demographic information here]. Have I missed any possible areas of application?
What are some questions that believers/non-believers might still have at the end of this sermon?
Let me be very clear: none of these stages are dictated by AI. However, it does help me think more broadly about the sermon, which I feel can only be good for our congregation. Ultimately, my focus is on what the Word of God is communicating and what the Holy Spirit is directing me to proclaim.
How do you use AI today?
Are there any daily functions in your world that are powered by artificial intelligence today? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below (or by replying to this email). What do you think about the use cases above? Let me know!
If you found this article helpful, consider reading my book “The Church and AI: Seven Guidelines for Ministry on the Digital Frontiers,” out now! If that’s not your thing, you could consider pledging a one-off gift or monthly donation here. No pressure, though. The fact you’re here is reward enough!
I like the article. I find overlap with my current uses in missions activities. I volunteer for TWR and we are trying to make good and safe use of AI.