Discover how to leverage technology in your church

Depending on who you ask, AI is either in the process of revolutionizing life as we know it or fading quickly and quietly into obscurity. The truth, as with most things, is somewhere in the middle. There are definitely ways that today’s AI agents can be used to make people, even pastors, more productive, or give them a starting point. But they’re not foolproof, and they simply aren’t at a point (nor, I would argue, will they ever be) where they can replace the human element that’s essential to pastoral ministry.

As a continuation of Rev. Bill Johnson’s previous blog post, “Answering Common Questions About Using AI in Ministry,” this article takes a deeper look at certain cautions to be taken when using AI for ministry-related tasks.

Jump to the following questions: 

• Are there theological or ethical concerns? 
• What risks or limitations should I know about before trusting AI?
• How do I make sure I’m not replacing thoughtful, Spirit-led work?
• How has AI already helped church workers?
• What’s a task you’ve seen AI handle surprisingly well—and one it really doesn’t?
• If I want to start using AI but don’t have time to learn a new tool, where should I begin?
• How do I stay informed without getting overwhelmed?

These days, we hear a lot about artificial intelligence (AI). While it has its pitfalls, it can be helpful in the ministry setting. In this article, Rev. Bill Johnson answers some common questions about AI in ministry and offers advice for getting started. 

Congregations have varying needs, resources, and technical skills, so it’s important to approach a church’s web presence with a clear strategy. In the following blog, read about how Rob Davidson of Concordia Technology Solutions had the pleasure of sitting down with Rev. Bill Johnson, a tech-savvy pastor, to discuss how churches can think more intentionally about their website strategy. 

Technology is advancing at a breakneck pace. New tools are emerging faster than most of us can learn to use them, and it can feel overwhelming—even for those who love tech. In the last year alone, we’ve seen incredible leaps in artificial intelligence (AI), especially with the rise of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT. These tools offer powerful new capabilities, but as with any new technology, they come with challenges and warnings to consider.  

We’ve heard the story for years now: “Every congregation needs a website”; but the simple reality is that many congregations simply don’t have the knowledge or skills to create and support a site that will be beneficial to the church and its community. I’ll write more on overall strategy in a later post, but for today, I’d like to provide a brief introduction to the various moving parts that make up a website.

At first glance, churches might seem like unlikely targets for cybercrime. After all, why target churches or nonprofit organizations when there’s more money to make by exploiting the vulnerabilities of wealthier corporations?

Fundraising is a hard topic, and I’ll admit at the outset that it’s one I struggle with. The problem is, of course, that it’s so easy to get the perspectives wrong. We can become so intent on our financial goals, particularly if we’re dealing with a large capital project like a new building, that we forget our main purpose of sharing the Gospel with the people we’re working with. Technology can be used to make fundraising more effective, but like any other tool, it has its pros and cons. It can be used in ways that are helpful in building up the Body of Christ; or it can be used in ways that, even if successful in meeting your fundraising goals, can be manipulative and destructive.

So you’ve made good use of your Church Management Software (CMS), and you have some new prospective members who are beginning to interact with your congregation, perhaps even showing up in worship for a few Sundays. What’s next? How do we begin, particularly in larger congregations, to move people from attending to belonging?

Anytime we set out to talk about ways to manage church members’ information, targeted advertising, or other efforts to use technology in outreach, we need to start from the right perspective. None of our cleverness, targeting, or planning can make the Gospel more effective—that’s the Holy Spirit’s job, not ours. What we’re seeking to do with communication, advertising, and technology is to remove barriers to people hearing the Gospel and to ensure that God’s Word is able to speak as clearly as possible to those who need to hear it. This month and for the next several months, we will be looking not at efficacy, but at clarity and removing noise from our communications.