Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a hot topic in our world today. It has become so ubiquitous that roughly 57% of all web-based text[1] had been AI-generated or translated through an AI algorithm by mid-2024 and continues to grow in popularity.[2]

However, one wonders if that statistic is true of the Church. In 1999, a friend of the author, then an editor at a major Nigerian daily, firmly believed that computers and the internet were tools of the devil and refused to support what he saw as an infrastructure the devil was setting up. Today, he runs an online news agency.

Historically, the Church has often resisted or at least struggled with conspiracies around new technologies in information dissemination. In a phone interview, an AI trainer told the author, “People think it's a fad and are not receptive.” He cited a pastor, holding an office equivalent to that of a bishop, who viewed AI as yet another tactic of the enemy. The pastor went on to ask, “If I use AI to write my sermon, where is the Holy Spirit?”

This study looks at how Christian mission agencies in Africa are engaging AI, the challenges they face, and their outlook on the future of AI in mission work. The survey, which included 79 respondents from 20 countries representing 52 unique organizations, provides valuable insights into the current state of AI adoption and its potential impact on Christian mission activities.

Current State of AI Adoption

Globally, the Christian missions enterprise is making advances in its adoption of AI. Since COVID-19 and the heightened need to do ministry online, the interest in AI has become a natural progression for agencies.

Some Case Studies

1.     Academia
Academia offers immediate pushback to AI use in the classroom for fear that it might impact learning negatively. However, Ukwandu et al., 2024[3] list a couple of use cases: AI used in a data science class for data analyses and in another, to break down complex papers in a graduate class. Others include AI as an ally to some international students who struggled with the use of the English language and an autistic student who found AI very useful in email communication.
 
2.     School of Missions Advocacy
In another educational setting, the School of Missions Advocacy[4] is designed as a Socratic tutor. Following the course work, it would anticipate learning gaps, explore assumptions and perspectives, and “facilitate” discussions with students.
 
3.     Great Commission Movement of Nigeria (GCMN)
“We adopted the use of AI when we launched the online missionary platform, Digital Ministry.[5] Artificial intelligence would help us process seekers through our various web channels. Then our online missionaries would take over from there.”[6]
 
4.     Calvary Ministries CAPRO
“For our publications, we transcribe audio files using Google Collaborator and use ChatGPT to clean up the transcript—delivering to us months of transcription work in just minutes. We are also building our AI using the Google NotebookLM to resource our Schools of Missions and address our simultaneous translation needs.”[7]
 
5.      All on the table
From the video conferencing church and outreach, revved up during the COVID-19 pandemic, we now have virtual reality churches[8] catering to cyberspace dwellers. Some others are also learning, exploring, and developing[9] healthier, God-honoring, and missional computer gaming alternatives.

Study Feedback

Level of Adoption and Applications of AI in Mission Work

The survey reveals that 37.7% of respondents are actively using AI, while 62.3% are either not using AI at all, are only familiar with AI tools like ChatGPT, or just exploring. 

Among those using AI, the most common applications include language translation, administrative tasks, content creation, training, and evangelism. While the study shows that 18.2% are not using AI in any form, it does nonetheless indicate a growing interest in engaging AI in Christian mission operations in Africa.

The survey also highlights key areas where AI is being applied or could be beneficial:

·      Translation: 60% 
·      Administration: 53.3% 
·      Training: 52%
·      Content creation: 50.7%
·      Research: 40.7%
·      Evangelism: 24% 

The variety of touch points reflects a healthy and widespread interest across different areas of the African Christian mission enterprise.

In a different context, a Pew Research Center survey[10] found that 81% of workers in the USA are "non-AI users." And this is while the big tech firms are putting down hundreds of billions of dollars anticipating business growth following AI adoption.

Challenges in Adopting AI

Despite the potential benefits, mission agencies face significant challenges in adopting AI. The biggest hurdles include:

·      Lack of technical skills: 55.4%
·      Poor internet infrastructure: 35.1%
·      Uncertainty about theological alignment: 32.4%

These challenges are compounded by other factors such as the high cost of AI tools, resistance to technology among staff or communities, ethical concerns, and AI replacing humans in mission work. In a phone interview,[11] one who should know, Keegan West of Create Labs[12], told the author that the community of Christian creatives and digital nerds is concerned about the nature of AI’s disruptions in the creative space, the hidden costs of possible copyright violations, and how the vast majority of people tend to use it. Incidentally, they are the ones best suited to guide and champion the adoption of AI for Christian missions. For instance, because of Keegan’s team’s very creative processes, he says they limit AI use. However, by the time he went through the "little" they do with AI, the author concluded that most of this study population, in comparison, are at best, just admiring AI in a display case.

Perhaps for the author, aside from the issues of biases and hallucinations, the lack of political will, and adequate data processing infrastructure on the African continent are among the biggest challenges to AI adoption in the long term. 

·      By 2024, 488,964 AI patents were filed globally[13] from five countries and two global blocs. How many are situated in Africa? 
-   Africa.com LLC reports that 669 of that number are AI startups across 54 African countries. Africa.com further reports the lack of robust regulatory frameworks as one of the challenges Africa faces concerning adopting and scaling AI. “As AI technologies are often developed and managed outside of Africa, questions around data sovereignty, privacy, and fairness arise,”[14] they caution.

·      How many AI LLMs are studying Africa or Christian missions from and to Africa?
-   While there is a glaring under-representation of the continent concerning data to train these models, some African countries like Rwanda are taking steps to address such concerns[15] by classifying certain public data as national assets. 

·      How many agencies are going beyond the awe of “what AI can do” and cheap videos that get stamped as “AI Fake?”

·      How many are mandating their tech guys to engage AI and come up with uncommon solutions for their training programs, field engagements, and process automation needs? The study identifies the lack of technical skill as the most prevalent challenge to AI adoption by Christian mission agencies in Africa. The obvious question: What is being done about that?

Eagerness to Integrate AI

When asked about their organization's eagerness to integrate AI, respondents scored a 3.4 on a scale of 5, where 5 represents being very eager. However, only 12.5% of respondents said their organizations were highly eager to adopt AI. The majority (87.4%) said they were not interested, slightly interested, neutral, or interested but cautious. An indication that more AI education is needed.

AI and the Future of Missions

Looking ahead, while 37.3% see potential benefits in the use of AI, they also have ethical concerns, AI doomsday fear, and worry about theological conflicts. Despite these concerns, 45.3% of respondents believe that AI, if used correctly, will have a positive impact on mission work, expanding reach and improving efficiency; particularly in areas like evangelism, discipleship, church planting, and in support functions such as media, education, and mobilization.

Nonetheless, as Business Insider asserts, one of the biggest challenges to AI integration is not about capabilities. In a study, it was found that “employee pushback, hesitation, or resistance”[16] were among the biggest challenges. 

AI Policies and Leadership

The survey also revealed that 73% of organizations did not have an AI policy or guidelines in place. Only 13.5% are certain that they have one, underscoring the need for mission agencies to develop clear frameworks for AI adoption and use. 

In terms of leadership, 60.3% of respondents identified themselves as mission leaders, indicating that the survey captured insights from key decision-makers within these organizations. This leadership perspective is crucial for driving AI adoption and ensuring that it aligns with the mission's goals and values. In a similar study,[17] but in another sector, Writer found out that executives are pushing AI as an inevitable revolution, but workers are not buying it in corporate America.

If mission agencies are going to take reasonable advantage of AI, integration strategies must be carefully studied and best-in-class ones deployed. As Rent a Mac discovered, a tweak in their policy changed employee AI engagement outlook from 31% to 89% in three months. In their case,[18] they worked on the anxiety among employees, that AI would affect their work negatively or take it away completely, and deployed other employees who understood AI as “AI Champions.”

Recommendations

·      Strengthen AI Education and Training: In an age of democratized truth, where prevalence is perceived as truth, AI will further that learning methodology. As other sectors are doing, mission agencies in Africa must invest in AI training. Training programs must develop an AI curriculum and seek collaborations with those making strides in this area. “Christian truth” must occupy its niche in the AI space. 

·      Improve Infrastructure and Access: Christian mission agencies have often brought development to communities they feel called to. That narrative should not change. If there is no infrastructure, mission organizations can champion that.

·      Address Theological and Ethical Concerns: It can be argued that Christian missions exist because of these concerns. With every culture the Church engages, there are ethical and theological concerns to navigate. Mission agencies must engage AI today as the Church engaged the print technology for the Bible.

·      Encourage AI Policy Development: To help manage the concerns above and more, mission agencies should study how other organizations are engaging AI and from that develop their AI policies. Organizations could also designate some people as “AI Champions.” 

·      Expand AI Use: These “AI Champions” should be tasked with driving the organization to go beyond using AI to just generate images for campaign posters and text for the website. They should step into engaging AI in strategic decision-making, advanced research, and customizing AI-powered tools for their work.

·      Leadership and Change Management: Mission leaders should improve their knowledge of AI and seek collaborations to create sustainable AI-driven strategies. Thus, they will stay engaged to keep an eye on ethical and theological concerns. They will also be better positioned to ensure that core leadership skills like critical thinking are not outsourced to AI.

Conclusion

This study is by no means exhaustive and probably stirs up questions for further studies. More importantly, however, are the concerns that African Christian mission agencies need to turn attention to whether they intend to jump on this AI train. The study does indicate significant interest in leveraging AI to enhance mission work. However, challenges such as lack of technical skills, poor infrastructure, and concerns about theological alignment remain significant barriers.

AI has the potential to revolutionize mission work in Africa with the right training, resources, and policies in place. From assisting in Bible translation work to streamlining administrative tasks and enhancing donor engagement, AI can play a pivotal role in expanding the reach and impact of mission agencies. Though the concerns are there, as one respondent aptly put it, "AI is an enabler of our mission work; we should use it and not let it use us." 

AI is such a disruptor the world has not seen before. Therefore, caution is warranted. However, just as we might wonder where Bible availability, engagement, and the spread of the gospel would be today if Johannes Gutenberg and Johann Fust had not invented and utilized the printing press, we can also ask similar questions about this moment. What changes might our world undergo in the next decade? And where would that leave us if we choose not to ride the AI train? Beautifully though, the future of AI in African mission work looks promising. However, it will require the courage of mission leaders and the Johanneses of our time to engage this super-disruptive technology for our God now.