More Similar Posts
Best Practices Series: AI in Ministry – 9 Practical Guidelines From Solid Ministry Leaders
Best Practices Series: AI in Ministry – 9 Practical Guidelines From Solid Ministry Leaders
By Dale Sellers
I spent some time developing a list of best practices that we’ve included in some of our recent posts. These practices are incredibly valuable for creating a ministry culture that is healthy and sustainable. With that in mind, I’d like to highlight a few of them so you can evaluate how your ministry is currently implementing them.
We’ve released four podcasts specifically focused on the positives and negatives of using AI in ministry. In this post, I’ve highlighted the best practices from each episode to provide a practical, pastor-friendly guide to using AI wisely—protecting people, preserving trust, and gaining margin for real ministry.
Pastors are leading in a world where congregations already use AI. These four episodes emphasize one central idea: AI can assist ministry, but it must never replace pastoral discernment, integrity, or presence. With clear guardrails for privacy, accuracy, transparency, and oversight, AI can increase efficiency—especially for small-church leaders—while freeing time for shepherding, prayer, and disciple-making.
Key Points In Brief
- AI is already embedded in daily life and ministry tools; ignoring it leaves leaders unprepared.
- Use AI as an assistant (“do it with you”), not a substitute (“do it for you”).
- Protect confidentiality; don’t paste private pastoral care details into general AI tools.
- Verify everything; treat outputs like a first draft.
- Be transparent when AI meaningfully shapes content or decisions.
- Automate carefully with a “human in the loop.”
- Use saved time for the ministry only humans can do.
Notable Quotes
- “AI cannot speak for God.” – Shelby Black
- “Treat every AI output like a first draft.” – Shelby Black
- “If you’re not comfortable claiming that it was AI, you’re probably not in a good place to use AI that much.” – Shelby Black
- “The only way to fail at AI right now is to ignore it.” – Jason Moore
- “Do-it-with-you, not do-it-for-you.” – Jason Moore
- “You have a soul. AI doesn’t.” – Jason Moore
- “It’s a good brainstorming partner, not a very good preacher.” – Darrell Stetler
- “It can never replace my daily devotions… but what it can do is hopefully give me a little more margin.” – Jim Powell
Comprehensive Best Practices for Using AI in Ministry
1) Lead with a theology of responsibility
- AI assists; humans discern. Pastors own theology, tone, and outcomes.
- Never treat AI like a spiritual authority.
2) Protect people with confidentiality-first practices
- Don’t paste counseling notes, care situations, conflicts, health details, or private messages into general AI tools.
- Prefer tools/settings that emphasize privacy controls when sensitive work is required.
3) Draw clear “no-go” boundaries
- Don’t outsource crisis care, counseling, or spiritual direction to AI.
- Don’t let AI “author” sermons. Use it as a study aid, not a replacement for Spirit-led wrestling with the text.
4) Use AI for high-ROI, low-risk assistance
Best uses:
- Brainstorm sermon illustrations and angles.
- Draft and edit communications (announcements, emails, social captions), then adapt them to your voice and context.
- Generate small group questions from sermon notes.
- Prototype series art, slide visuals, or children’s illustrations (with discernment).
5) Build a verification workflow (non-negotiable)
- Fact-check names, dates, quotes, and stories.
- Confirm Scripture references and context.
- When possible, ask for sources and verify them.
6) Maintain integrity and transparency
- If AI meaningfully shaped content, don’t hide it.
- Internal rule: if you’d feel uncomfortable explaining “how this was made,” revise the process.
7) Keep a “human in the loop” (especially with automation)
- Don’t allow automations to run unattended.
- Assign a clear owner for any workflow, prompt library, or automation.
8) Steward the margin on purpose
- Use time saved for pastoral presence: prayer, visitation, disciple-making, leadership development, and healthy rhythms.
9) Teach your people (not just your staff)
- Your congregation is already using AI.
- Provide discipleship-level guidance: wisdom, discernment, truth, and boundaries.
One-Page “AI Guardrails” (Copy/Paste Starter)
Confidentiality: We will not paste personal or pastoral care information into general AI tools.
Accuracy: We will verify factual claims, quotes, and Scripture references before sharing.
Integrity: We will not present AI-generated work as solely our own without meaningful pastoral ownership.
Transparency: We will disclose AI use when it materially shaped a public-facing outcome.
Oversight: Automated workflows require human review and a named owner.
Pastoral Care: AI cannot replace pastoral presence, counseling, or crisis response.
Prompt Templates (Practical)
- “Give me 10 illustration ideas for this passage, grouped by category (history, science, sports, current events).”
- “Generate 8 small group questions: 2 observation, 3 interpretation, 3 application.”
- “List possible objections a skeptic might raise, then give concise responses.”
- “Draft a 150-word post-sermon encouragement in a pastoral tone. Avoid hype and exaggeration.”
- “What details in this draft must be fact-checked before I use it publicly?”
Source Episodes (95 Podcast)
- Podcast 341 — AI Guardrails for Churches (Dale Sellers, Joseph Bennett, Shelly Black)
- Podcast 307 — AI in the Church (Dale Sellers, Jason Moore)
- Podcast 279 — Sermon Illustrator (Dale Sellers, Darrell Stetler)
- Podcast 204 — AI in the Church (Dale Sellers, Jim Powell)
————————————————————————
What are you doing that is working well? What is not going so well? Let’s connect and have a conversation about it. At 95Network, we are here to support and serve you in any way we can. If you feel like you’re in a season where you’re stalled out and can’t see the way forward, then please reach out to me at [email protected]
