It’s impossible to ignore AI. It’s seemingly everywhere, turning life as we know it upside down, changing how we think, live and communicate.
This powerful tool is revolutionizing nearly every aspect of life, impacting our jobs, education, homelife, legislature and more. If AI is rapidly changing these spaces, how will it revolutionize faith and evangelism? And how can we embrace its benefits to make a greater Kingdom impact?
A study shows that Christians are more reserved about AI use in comparison to non-Christians, further justifying the need to explain how Christians can use AI ethically—a frequent conversation I have. My response is simple: If we think of it as an aid to what we are already doing in ministry, it can make a positive impact.
Like any technological tool or advancement, AI can be very beneficial if used ethically to enhance work being done by real people and to automate systems to be more efficient. At Cru, we have begun using AI tools to help us maintain our relationships with current believers, as well as help us connect with those who may just be beginning their journey in faith.
Here are three ways you can use AI today to further your ministry:
- Connect with people in their language.
One of the most helpful uses I have seen for ministry is using AI for language translation. Instead of spending time and resources on manual translations, ministries focus on other aspects of sharing resources like delivery and impact, relying on AI to do the bulk of translation work. AI can help translate messages of hope in minutes, if not seconds. Think of church planters moving into a multi-ethnic community and being able to have Bible studies, sermons or resources that cater to a variety of language needs, dialects and cultural nuances. The ability to translate a resource into many languages accurately—and quickly—opens up the ability for ministries to speak to many new audiences in their preferred language.
- Create personalized content.
AI can help streamline the creation of videos, emails or event flyers quickly, creatively and effectively. You can use AI to personalize touchpoints with many people, enhancing your daily outreach efforts to make the interactions meaningful and engaging. The idea is not to use AI to create content entirely, but to use it as a creative, complementary tool to help refine and enhance what you have already been doing.
- Enhance and expand your existing staff.
We always hear the harvest is plenty, but the laborers are few. AI tools can help a single person expand their capacity. By integrating AI into your workflow, you can extend your reach and amplify your efforts, effectively turning a limited team into a more efficient and productive force. Use it to create calendars and get your team organized or automate tasks that are time-consuming. By embracing AI, you can overcome the challenge of limited resources and ensure that your message reaches as many people as possible, ultimately making a greater Kingdom impact.
Guardrails Are Critical.
When it comes to AI, there is no question that it can ride the line of controversy, and that is why establishing guardrails is critical. The key is balancing AI’s productivity with intentionality about when and how it should augment versus replace human effort within biblical ministry contexts. This requires us to ensure appropriate bounds of authority, specialist oversight and centralized alignment with the fruits of the Spirit.
We have a real opportunity to use AI for gospel purposes, particularly in the U.S. as new vendors, tools and uses become available. This can be very exciting and, with prayerful integration aligned with scriptural truth, we will begin to see a groundswell of kingdom impact all around the world.
Andre Echevarria is U.S. digital strategies leader for Cru.
