Why Your Church Needs an AI Policy (and Why It's Really a Discipleship Document)

Here’s a gap that should get every church leader’s attention. Barna’s 2026 research found that four in ten practicing Christians say AI has already helped them with prayer, Bible study, or spiritual growth. Yet only about 5% of churches have an established AI policy, and just 12% of pastors say they feel comfortable teaching their congregations about AI.

So your people are using it. Your staff and volunteers are almost certainly using it. And most churches haven’t said a word.

Silence is a policy too

When leaders say nothing, everyone makes up their own rules. One volunteer pastes the whole prayer list into a chatbot to “clean it up.” A youth leader uses an AI image of the pastor in a promo video. Someone preaches a sermon they didn’t really write. Nobody meant harm. Nobody was told.

Proverbs says, “Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds” (Proverbs 27:23). Paying attention to how a new technology is shaping your flock is part of that job.

What a good policy covers

Our elders adopted a policy at Living Faith in June 2026. It has seven parts, and I’d suggest any church’s policy cover the same ground:

1. Theological foundations. Start with what you believe: the sufficiency of Scripture, the irreplaceability of human shepherding, the value of authenticity, and the call to “test everything; hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
2. Approved and prohibited uses. Be concrete. Drafting internal emails and summarizing meeting notes: yes. Generating counseling responses or “prophetic words”: no.
3. Gray areas. Name the things that need a conversation first, like congregant-facing chatbots or AI-generated images in worship.
4. Sermon and teaching preparation. Preaching carries unique trust, so it deserves its own section.
5. Data privacy. What never goes into a public AI tool.
6. Disclosure. When people should be told AI was involved.
7. Congregational discipleship. How you’ll teach your people, not just regulate your staff.

It’s a discipleship document

That last section is the one most policies skip, and it’s the one I care about most.

A policy that only governs staff behavior treats AI as an HR problem. But the bigger issue is that AI is quietly becoming a spiritual advisor to people in your pews. A third of practicing Christians say they want guidance from their pastor on navigating AI. That’s an open door.

So our policy commits us to teach things like: AI is not a shepherd. It reflects its training data, not God’s heart. Convenience is not the same as formation. Your inner life deserves protection.

Start small

You don’t need a forty-page document. You need:

• A one-sentence conviction your leaders agree on
• A short list of yes, no, and “ask first”
• One clear rule about congregant data
• A date to review it, because the technology will change

Our church’s full policy is here, and you’re welcome to adapt it. Don’t paste it. Talk it through with your elders. The conversation is half the value.

I help churches and ministries write AI policies their leaders can actually own, and put them into practice. I’m a pastor with more than twenty years in business and technology. If that would help your church, here’s how I work.