By Brent Lacy
AI in the Church
How to Use AI for Sermon Prep Without Losing Your Voice
Every bi-vocational pastor has had the same Sunday morning. It is 6am. The sermon is not ready. You have been working all week at your day job, and the 15 minutes you carved out on Thursday were not enough. You open your laptop and wonder if there is a faster way.
There is. But it comes with real risks that most pastors are not thinking about clearly.
What AI Can Legitimately Help With
Research and Background
AI tools can quickly summarize historical context, cross-references, and commentary on a passage. This is not different from using a Bible dictionary or a commentary. The information still needs to be verified, but it can dramatically speed up the research phase of sermon prep.
Illustration Ideas
Stuck on an illustration? AI can generate dozens of ideas in seconds. Most of them will be generic or unusable. But occasionally one will spark something that connects to your specific congregation and community. Use it as a brainstorming tool, not a content generator.
Outline Structure
If you know what you want to say but are struggling with how to organize it, AI can help you think through structure. Give it your main points and ask it to suggest ways to sequence them. Then rewrite the outline in your own words.
Editing and Clarity
Paste a paragraph you have written and ask AI to suggest ways to make it clearer or more concise. This is editing assistance, not content generation. Your words, your ideas, your voice, just refined.
AI can help you research faster and think more clearly. It cannot preach for you. And it should not.
What AI Cannot Do
Know Your Congregation
AI does not know that three families in your church are going through divorce right now. It does not know that the farmer in the third row lost his crop this year. It does not know the specific sins, struggles, and hopes of the people sitting in front of you. You do. That knowledge is irreplaceable, and it is what makes preaching pastoral rather than merely informational.
Preach With Authority
A sermon that was written by AI and delivered by a pastor who did not wrestle with the text will feel hollow. Congregations can sense the difference between a pastor who has lived with a passage and one who has not. The wrestling is not inefficiency. It is the work.
Replace the Holy Spirit
The most important preparation for preaching is not research or outline work. It is prayer. Time in the text. Listening for what God wants to say to this congregation through this passage on this Sunday. No AI tool can do that for you.
A Practical Framework
Use AI for the first 20% of your prep (research, context, initial ideas) and the last 10% (editing, clarity). Do the middle 70% yourself: wrestling with the text, finding the main idea, connecting it to your congregation, writing in your own voice. That is where the sermon actually happens.
The Disclosure Question
If you use AI in your sermon prep, should you tell your congregation? There is no universal answer. But the principle is this: if you would be embarrassed for your congregation to know how you prepared, that is a signal worth paying attention to. Transparency builds trust. Secrecy erodes it.
AI Ethics Resources
Free and affordable tools for small and rural churches.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can AI help with sermon preparation?
AI can help with research, outlining, finding illustrations, and checking grammar. It is a tool for efficiency, not a replacement for the pastor’s own study and prayer.
What are the risks of using AI in sermon prep?
The main risk is losing your own voice and perspective. AI can produce generic content that lacks the specificity and authenticity of your own study.
How do you maintain your voice when using AI?
Use AI as a starting point, not a finished product. Always rewrite in your own words and add your own illustrations.
Is it ethical to use AI in sermon preparation?
Yes, as long as you are transparent about your process and the sermon reflects your own study and convictions.
What AI tools are most useful for pastors?
Tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini can help with research, outlining, and language. Bible-specific tools like Logos integrate AI with biblical scholarship.
Rural ministry is different. Your resources should be too.
MinistryPlace.net exists to serve small and rural church leaders with free and low-cost resources , curriculum, toolkits, and practical guides.
Sources
- Pew Research Center, “Generative Artificial Intelligence in Daily Life”
- Barna Group, “Creatively Engaging Gen Z”
- MIT Technology Review, “What AI Can and Can’t Do for Your Church”
MinistryPlace Resources
Browse all guides, templates, and tools for small and rural churches.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this mean for my small church?
Most small churches are already using AI tools without realizing it. The key is to be intentional about understanding the biases these tools carry and to use them as supplements, not replacements, for pastoral wisdom and biblical teaching.
Should we stop using AI tools altogether?
No. AI offers genuine benefits for church administration, research, and communication. The goal is informed use, not avoidance. Understand what AI is good at and what it is not, and never use it as a substitute for prayer, Scripture, or the counsel of mature believers.
How do we address this with our congregation?
Start with education. Share the research findings openly and help your members understand both the benefits and limitations of AI. Encourage critical thinking about AI-generated content.