Pastor Ryan Hayden thought he was prepared for what artificial intelligence could do. Then he asked ChatGPT to write a complete sermon on Ruth chapter 1, and thirty seconds later stared at 3,000 words that made him deeply uncomfortable. The AI had produced logical text breakdown, biblical references, theological insights, and practical applications. Everything looked convincingly pastoral.
“If I were feeling particularly lazy, I could slightly edit this and preach it to my church, and no one would know,” Hayden wrote on his blog. “It is the ultimate cheat code, which is what makes it so dangerous.”
Hayden’s conflicted response captures a tension now rippling through churches worldwide. While 87% of church leaders embrace AI for ministry purposes, only 12% feel comfortable letting it craft their sermons. This striking gap exposes more than technological hesitation. It reveals fundamental questions about authenticity, authority, and what makes ministry genuinely Christian.
The numbers tell a fascinating story of selective adoption. Pastors readily embrace AI for graphic design (88%) and marketing (78%), show moderate comfort with communication tasks (58%), but grow increasingly cautious around sermon research (43%) and study materials (39%). When it comes to actually writing sermons, resistance jumps dramatically. Only 12% of pastors trust AI with their core calling.
Ed Stetzer of Talbot School of Theology offers a helpful framework for understanding this hesitation. “Think of AI as the sous chef of your ministry kitchen,” he writes. “A good sous chef is not the head chef of a traditional kitchen. He or she does not have final say over the menu, set the direction of the restaurant, and should never commandeer the executive chef’s vision.” The pastor remains the “head chef” who “sets the standards and ultimately takes responsibility for everything that leaves the kitchen.”
This metaphor resonates because efficiency has never been the gospel’s primary concern. Christ himself chose the seemingly inefficient path, investing three years in twelve often-confused disciples rather than broadcasting his message through Roman infrastructure. The incarnation represents God’s ultimate rejection of remote, technological solutions in favour of personal, embodied presence.
Yet the temptation proves remarkably seductive. John Piper recently experimented by asking ChatGPT to write an 800-word response “in the theology and style of theologian John Piper” about AI dangers in ministry. The result unnerved him. “If I were reading it right now, I don’t think you or your listeners would know that I’m reading from ChatGPT.” The AI had mastered his Scripture references, theological points, and characteristic style with unsettling accuracy.
Such capabilities create what many pastors now call an “ethical gray area.” Most agree that having AI write entire sermons constitutes plagiarism. But what about AI-generated illustrations? Outline suggestions? Help with conclusions? As capabilities improve, the lines blur.
Hayden has wrestled deeply with these questions and developed personal guidelines. First: “Do not copy from Artificial Intelligence in a way that it would be wrong to copy from another writer or preacher.” Second: “Do not use Artificial Intelligence in sermon preparation in a way that shortcuts the process of study and meditation on God’s word that people expect from a faithful preacher.” Third: “Never use something from Artificial Intelligence that you have not verified.”
He’s found peace treating AI like a sophisticated thesaurus rather than a content creator. “The way I use AI in my sermon writing more than anything is as a thesaurus or dictionary,” he explains, using it for word suggestions and fact-checking rather than theological content.
The speed of adoption has surprised many observers. Nearly half of church leaders now use AI tools weekly or daily for various ministry purposes, while 58% say they need moderate to extensive AI education to integrate it effectively. This hunger for guidance has spawned new educational initiatives, from ChatGPTforChurches.com to AIforChurchLeaders.com, while an active Facebook community of over 6,000 church leaders discusses practical applications.
The most popular tool, ChatGPT, is used by 25% of church leaders primarily for sermon preparation and research. Churches find AI particularly beneficial for communications (17%), data analysis (16%), and administration (14%), but remain hesitant about relational applications like member engagement and evangelism.
These statistics reflect deeper theological concerns about spiritual formation. John Dube, writing for The Master’s Seminary, argues that surrendering sermon preparation to AI means “giving up one critical aspect of sanctification in my life.” He sees sermon preparation as fundamentally an act of worship and personal encounter with Scripture. “As I labor to understand and rightly share the meaning of a certain passage of Scripture, God is using that very passage to shape my own walk with Him.”
This perspective echoes broader concerns about pastoral formation. Piper emphasizes that pastors must possess the biblical gift of teaching. “That means you must have the ability, the gift, to read a passage of Scripture, understand the reality it deals with, feel the emotions it is meant to elicit, be able to explain it to others clearly, illustrate and apply it for their edification.”
Churches are responding by developing AI policies to address transparency and ethical boundaries. Stetzer recommends asking key questions: “Will this enhance or potentially diminish personal connections? Are we scaling AI use at a level and pace that is appropriate?” Many emphasize that AI should enhance rather than replace human ministry.
Some congregations worry about perception. If people discover their pastor uses AI to collaborate on sermons, will they be more or less motivated to attend church? The risk of scandal from AI plagiarism, even unintentional, could damage church reputation and trust.
Interestingly, congregations aren’t necessarily demanding AI expertise from their pastors. Only 11% of Christians see their pastors as someone to help them learn about AI, and just 13% want to hear sermons about developing AI theology. This relieves pressure on pastors to become overnight AI experts while focusing attention on core ministry functions.
The practical applications continue expanding. Churches use AI for predictive analytics about attendance and giving patterns, multilingual translation services, and automated visitor follow-up. Some deploy AI chatbots trained on their theological positions to answer basic questions, while others use it for video editing and social media content creation.
However, the most successful implementations maintain clear human oversight. Churches report best results when AI handles administrative burdens, freeing pastoral staff for relational ministry. The technology excels at processing information quickly but cannot replicate the pastoral knowledge that comes from living with a congregation through births, deaths, crises, and celebrations.
Looking ahead, pressure to adopt AI will likely intensify. Companies are developing increasingly sophisticated ministry-specific tools, from Logos Sermon Assistant to Subsplash’s Pulpit AI designed to help pastors extend their message through social media optimization.
The challenge for churches lies in navigating between extremes: uncritical adoption that compromises ministry integrity and reactive rejection that ignores beneficial applications. The 87% of church leaders who favour AI use seem to be finding middle ground, embracing administrative and communication applications while maintaining human authority over core spiritual functions.
This careful approach reflects wisdom about technology’s proper role in ministry. The goal becomes using these powerful tools to enhance human ministry while preserving what remains irreplaceable about pastoral calling.
The digital age presents churches with tools their predecessors could never have imagined, but the fundamental calling remains unchanged. Technology can assist in the work of ministry, but it cannot substitute for the transformed life, authentic relationship, and Spirit-empowered witness that make ministry genuinely Christian. The challenge ahead involves learning to use these capabilities wisely while never forgetting what must remain fundamentally human.
Rev. Vijayesh Lal is the General Secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India.
