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AI & Tech · Church Communications

5 Ways Your Church Can Start Using AI Right Now

· Updated · by · 2 min read

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The most common thing I hear from church communicators when it comes to AI is: “I know I should be using it, but I don’t know where to start.” Fair. The landscape is enormous, the options are overwhelming, and the last thing you need is another complicated tool to manage.

So here’s the good news: you don’t have to overhaul anything. You can start small, start today, and see real results within the hour. Here are five places to begin.

1. Draft Your Weekly Communications Faster

How much time do you spend staring at a blank screen trying to write the Sunday bulletin, the weekly email, or the next social media post? AI can give you a first draft in seconds.

Try this: Open ChatGPT or Claude and type something like, “Write a warm, 150-word church email inviting families to our Easter service on April 20th. We’re a friendly Baptist church in Nashville. Tone should be welcoming, not churchy.” Read what it gives you, edit it to sound like you, and post it. That’s it.

You’re not replacing your voice. You’re eliminating the blank page problem.

2. Research Scripture and Sermon Topics

Ask AI to help you explore a biblical text from multiple angles. “Summarize three different theological interpretations of the Prodigal Son parable” gives you a starting point for deeper study. “What are some modern analogies for the concept of grace in Luke 15?” can spark sermon illustrations you wouldn’t have thought of alone.

AI is not a replacement for prayer, study, and the Holy Spirit. But it’s an excellent research assistant.

3. Create Graphics Without a Design Degree

Tools like DALL-E (built into ChatGPT), Midjourney, and Ideogram can generate custom images from a text description. Need a graphic for your grief support group that doesn’t look like generic stock photography? Describe what you want. “A warm, soft-lit image of two hands reaching toward each other across a wooden table, gentle and hopeful.” Done.

These tools aren’t perfect, but they give small churches access to visual content that used to require a professional designer.

4. Write Grant Applications and Outreach Materials

Grant writing is one of the most time-consuming things a church communications director can face. AI can help you draft, structure, and polish a grant application faster than you ever could alone. Give it the grant’s requirements and ask it to help you outline your church’s case — then fill in the specifics and personal stories that only you know.

5. Summarize, Simplify, and Respond

Have a long policy document, a complex email thread, or a lengthy report that needs a plain-English summary for the elder board? Paste it into an AI tool and ask for a summary. Need to respond to a sensitive email and want help striking the right tone? Ask AI for a draft, then make it your own.

The goal is always to free you up — from the mechanical, the repetitive, the time-consuming — so you can spend more time on the things that actually require you: relationships, prayer, presence, leadership.

Start with one of these this week. Just one. That’s how it begins.

🤖 Want to go deeper with AI in your ministry? Check out my book AI Prompts for Church Leaders — practical, ready-to-use prompts designed specifically for pastors, communicators, and ministry teams. Grab it on Amazon.