Can We Embrace AI and Keep Our Humanity?

Duke Dillard - Editor

When I took my first short-term mission trip to Kazakhstan in 1993, cell phones and internet were not available. Four years later when we moved across the world, we could stay in touch through email, but the slow baud rate meant that a one-megabyte photo took an hour to download. Not long after landing in Uzbekistan in 2003, Skype made it easy to talk to friends and family back in the US. And by the time we got to Turkey in 2007, cell phones were common, the iPhone was launching, and all my Turkish MBA classmates were on Facebook.

Serving Others Using Generative AI

KEN ARNOLD

AI is often marketed as a servant for us. What if we think of it instead as a tool to help us serve others? Instead of generating content for us, could we use it to reflect thoughtfully about how our words will affect others? Instead of seeking answers, could we seek to understand others better? Could we use it to enrich cross-cultural relationships instead of automating solo tasks?

Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Transform Cross-Cultural Missions

MARK J. HARRIS, DIS

For generations, cross-cultural missionaries have grappled with the painstaking processes of language learning, cultural adaptation, and contextual teaching. These challenges have often limited effectiveness and slowed the spread of the gospel among unreached people groups. Today, we stand at the threshold of a technological revolution that offers unprecedented opportunities to transform missionary work. Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a powerful tool with the potential to dramatically enhance mission effectiveness in three critical domains: language acquisition, cultural understanding, and contextualized Bible education.

Awakening Human Relationships

JERRY AN

Like many people today, the first thing I did when I began reflecting on this question was to ask AI. It responded confidently: “AI is already beginning to impact cross-cultural ministry to the unreached in some profound and promising ways—and it could do much more.” It then offered a detailed and well-structured breakdown of how AI is, will, and could shape missions and outreach among unreached people groups. Ironically, it concluded with the statement “AI should supplement, not replace, human relationship and incarnational ministry.”

Reaching Hostile and Restricted Regions Through AI

GREG OUTLAW

Imagine a desperate young mother in a rural region typing “Is there hope?” in her heart language into her phone at midnight. In an area where sharing faith can spark persecution, her search leads to a safe, AI-driven audio conversation in her mother tongue that God uses to change her life and her family. In this article, I'll share our approach to combining search engine optimization, multilingual content, and conversational AI—like AllAboutGOD.ai—to connect with local heart-language speakers in high-risk areas.

Modern AI on Missions: The Benefits, Risks, and Future

EDWARD C. SIZHE

 In the past two years, the world has been swept into a new technological era driven by generative AI, a form of artificial intelligence capable of interacting with humans in natural language,1 most prominently exemplified by platforms like ChatGPT. These rapidly evolving systems, once the stuff of science fiction, have become everyday tools that can write essays, brainstorm ideas, translate languages, generate artistic images, and even produce audio podcasts that rival human craftsmanship. We have seen new developments, each seemingly more impressive than the last, reshaping how people work, communicate, and, crucially, how they think about what’s possible. In this age of transformation, the Church and its global missions are not left untouched. From Bible translation to virtual Bible studies, technology has opened new frontiers for ministry. Yet, as with any great innovation, caution must accompany excitement, and wisdom should temper ambition. These considerations guide us to examine three pivotal areas regarding AI’s place in missions: its value as a tool, the risks it carries, and the potential futures it may bring, both hopeful and concerning.

Wielding AI Tools with Wisdom: A Guide for Non-Profit Leaders

JANELLE STOOPS

AI surrounds you. From predictive text supplied by your phone, personalized recommendations for your Spotify playlist, curated content on Facebook and Instagram, and recommended products on Amazon, you are most likely already interacting with AI multiple times a day in your personal life.

Targeted by Tech: How Criminals and Governments Can Use AI and Cyber Attacks Against Christian Missionaries

JON RALLS

As the global Church advances into digital frontiers, missionaries are facing not only spiritual and cultural opposition but the potential of an increasingly hostile cyber arena. Criminal syndicates, extremist groups, and authoritarian regimes are harnessing cutting-edge technologies and can target Christians spreading the gospel across restricted and persecuted regions. What once required human effort and espionage is now being amplified, automated, and accelerated through Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Agentic AI:Is in Your Ministry Future

TED ESLER, PhD

Most of us interact with artificial intelligence (AI) through chat interfaces. These are the friendly, sometimes chippy, text boxes we use to query any of the major services. The more advanced among us use a voice interface. Lately, I have been using ChatGPT to practice my Serbo-Croatian. It is a 24/7language helper, ready to translate, converse, and correct my spoken language. Yet another way that we are using AI is image generation. These are the primary modes we currently use to benefit from AI.

Change

GREG PARSONS

In almost 45 years of working full-time to see Jesus’ kingdom spread to all peoples and places, one decisive factor I have seen is that believers who engage well cross-culturally have a higher tolerance for change. I’m sure it is a continuum. On one end, some need change in their lives to feel their best, while the other end finds those who love routine and structure.

BEYOND FINANCE$: Meaningful Ways to Support Field Workers

IRENE SPRINGFIELD (Pseudonym)

The last time we were in the U.S. on home assignment, I was talking to a friend about his sister, who had recently become a field worker in East Asia. Wanting to get my perspective as a field worker, he asked, “Besides giving to her financially, what can I do to support her?” I was really moved by his question, both because it came from a place of genuine concern and love for his sister, and because it was so humble. He didn’t assume he knew the best way to help.

Misconceptions from Oversimplifying Non-Western Movements

JUSTIN LONG

Along with two other people, I’ve recently contributed to a new book about movements: Forests in the Seed: How Kingdom Movements Are Multiplying Across the Unreached World. Some other great books about movements are already available. This article is a note of caution for all these materials.

Exploring the role of AI in contextualized Bible apps

RICHARD MARGETTS

In the world of Bible translation, how do we make newly translated Scriptures available? How do we publish one or more books, a whole New Testament or a complete Bible? In the past the answer was to make printed copies. Today, it is becoming increasingly common to make new Bible translations available in multiple formats: printed books, audio recordings and mobile apps. Among the younger generation especially, there is an expectation that the Scriptures should be available digitally.

When Missions Meet Machines: How AI is Transforming Global Ministry

STEFAN JUNGMICHEL, MBA

The rain didn’t stop for seven days. In a low-lying village in the Philippines, floodwaters swallowed homes, schools and roads. Power lines collapsed, communication cut out and families sought refuge on rooftops—cut off and unseen. But this time, help arrived faster than ever.

AI and Christian Mission in Africa

PATRICK ANYANWU

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.

AI’s Role in Missions Today: Content Creation, Discipleship, and Cross-Cultural Storytelling

KEEGAN WEST & BEVIN GINDER

Artificial intelligence is no longer just a Silicon Valley buzzword, it’s here, and it’s already reshaping the missions world. From movement leaders to on-the-ground trainers, we’ve seen firsthand how people are beginning to adapt. And if you want to understand what’s helping drive that shift? Start by looking in their pockets.

Wooden People and Talking Bugs Serving Mission: Training Leaders Worldwide to Harness AI in Ministry

SIMON HOOD

When a group of global mission movements started spreading a model of 'families on mission', a key challenge was how to share real stories of families without showing their faces—especially in sensitive locations. Enter AI. With it came the ability to create animated characters and bring stories to life in hours, not weeks. The result was a delightful series of animations featuring talking pandas, giraffes, butterflies, and other whimsical characters. These imaginative tools helped communicate real mission stories in fun and creative ways. Out of this grew a remarkable idea—equipping leaders with many ways that AI can serve ministry needs in creative ways.

FINAL REFLECTION: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is Transforming Nearly Every Aspect of modern life

CHATGPT (With prompts from Justin Long)

AI tools have revolutionized various sectors by analyzing vast data, generating human-like text and speech, and learning and adapting over time. The rise of AI introduces important questions regarding the future of work, creativity, and relationships. For the church and missions, a critical question emerges: How will AI impact gospel sharing and disciple-making?