AI and Ministry: Doing Human Better in the Age of AI
AI and Ministry: Doing Human Better in the Age of AI
Artificial intelligence is everywhere, and the church is not exempt from this conversation. In this month's GSB Roundtable, GSB partner Nathan Swenson Reinhold offers a grounded, theologically informed framework for how ministry leaders can engage AI with maturity, clarity, and purpose.
Nathan opens with a simple but clarifying question: where do you sit in this conversation? Curious and cautious? Already using AI and wanting to use it better? Or skeptical and morally concerned? Most of us, he suggests, find ourselves in more than one of those chairs at once, and that's actually the most honest answer.
What the Church Is Already Saying
Denominations across the spectrum are wrestling with AI, and they're landing in different places. The ELCA is focused on vocation, pastoral care, and the lived theology of human will. The Presbyterian Church USA is raising questions about power and access. The Episcopal Church is concerned about authorship and harm. The United Methodist Church is leaning into AI's potential to democratize ministry capacity. And Pope Leo's recent encyclical offers what Nathan calls "an adult response to AI," one that neither embraces it uncritically nor rejects it outright, but centers human dignity throughout.
Four Levels of Ministry Use
Nathan introduces a helpful framework for thinking about how AI can serve ministry work:
Level 1 is AI as a search engine, handling basic research and text summarization.
Level 2 is AI as a writing assistant, helping draft letters, newsletters, and formatted correspondence.
Level 3 is AI as a thinking partner, a reflection tool you can bring a presentation outline to and ask, "What am I missing?"
Level 4 is AI as a personalized coach, and this is where things get genuinely powerful. At this level, AI has access to your knowledge domains: your sermons, your theological papers, your leadership biases, your worldview. It can push back on your blind spots and help you create work that is more fully and distinctively you.
From Actor to Director
One of the most useful metaphors Nathan offers is the shift from actor to director. Most of us think of ourselves as the ones who have to write everything, produce everything, create everything. But the real creative work is learning to set the scene, define the tone and voice, clarify the purpose and the audience, and then direct AI to execute within that vision. That is a genuinely different skill, and it is one that takes practice. But it returns your creative energy to vision rather than production.
The Anatomy of a Good Prompt
Nathan introduces the CREATE framework for prompt design:
Context: Who are you and what is your role?
Role: What role should AI play in this task?
Explicit task: What exactly do you need?
Audience: Who is this for?
Tone: How should it sound?
Examples: What does a good result look like?
A well-crafted prompt does more than improve your output. It also uses approximately 50% less energy than a vague one. Nathan also offers this practical tip: always end your prompts with "Ask me additional questions for clarity if necessary." Your AI will, and your results will be better for it.
The Ecological Dimension
Creation care is not separate from this conversation. US AI data centers consumed 10% of national energy output in 2024. An AI summary uses 100 times more energy than a standard web search. Choosing smaller task-specific models, like Claude Haiku or ChatGPT 4o Mini, can reduce energy use by up to 90%. Writing better prompts helps too. Being a responsible AI user, Nathan argues, is a form of neighbor love.
What AI Cannot Do
It cannot preach. It cannot pastor. It cannot pray. It cannot witness to Christ crucified and risen. It cannot build Christian community through a hug, an invitation, or a small group gathered around Scripture. These remain irreducibly human, and they are the irreplaceable heart of ministry.
A Free Resource
Nathan is offering two sample church AI policy documents (a ChatGPT version and a Manus version) to help congregations and councils begin their own conversations. Email him at nathan@gsbfr.com to request them.