Back in the 1900s — yes, literally — I was in Grade 8 at Collegiate Avenue Elementary. My parents were ahead of their time, so I had something no one else in my class did: an IBM‑compatible XT 286 clone with a 20‑meg hard drive, floppy disks, a joystick, a glowing green monochrome monitor… and the glorious screech of a dial‑up modem connecting to local BBSs. They even installed a second phone line so that I could make those late-night digital journeys without tying up the house line.

At the time, this was a cutting-edge development. While my classmates were scribbling essays in pencil, I showed up one day with a freshly printed two-page report. I even had to rip the perforated edges off the paper.

When I handed it in, my teacher, Mr. Lawson, asked me to stay behind after class. I wasn’t in trouble — but he clearly had something on his mind. Leaning in with a mix of concern and curiosity, he asked, “Rich, does the computer make up all those words?”

He had no idea how a word processor worked. To him, the computer was some mysterious force that might be thinking on its own. Of course, it wasn’t. I wrote every word. The machine just helped me format and print it faster than anyone else could.

Today, I’m seeing a similar confusion and fear emerge in conversations about Artificial Intelligence (AI), especially in the church.

Many church leaders are asking: Will AI take over my job? Can it write my sermons? Should I even use it? Isn’t it dangerous?

These are fair questions. However, here’s the thing: AI is advancing faster than most people realize, and before long it will become a normal part of leadership work across nearly every sector—including ministry. The question isn’t if it should be part of our toolkit, but how we will use it.

Just as that old XT machine and dot-matrix printer didn’t replace me as a writer in 8th grade, AI isn’t here to replace pastors. It’s here to help us do what church leaders have been doing for more than 2,000 years: equipping God’s people for works of service (Ephesians 4:12).

We Need a Way to Think About AI

Pastors are some of the most overworked leaders in society. Between sermon prep, hospital visits, administration, staff meetings, and Sunday logistics, the urgent tasks often crowd out the important ones.

And when that happens, the most vital work suffers: wisdom work. Leadership development. Culture building. Prayer. Spiritual discernment.

This is where AI comes in … not to replace you, but to help you reclaim your time.

But where should you start? And what shouldn’t you give to AI?

It is clear that we need a model … a framework that helps us prioritize which tasks to delegate to AI, and when. I call it the Church Leadership AI Ladder.

This isn’t about chasing shiny tools; it’s about developing a clear mental model to move from low-leverage, time-consuming activities toward the high-trust, human-centered leadership God has called us to.

We’re standing at the front edge of what may be one of the most transformative decades in human history. Just like the arrival of the printing press or the internet, artificial intelligence isn’t just a new tool—it’s a foundational shift that will change the way we live, work, and lead.

Church leaders shouldn’t treat this as hype. Some of the most reputable voices in economics and technology are pointing to AI as the single most significant driver of growth, creativity, and cultural disruption in the years to come. One leading economic theory suggests we’re on the cusp of an AI-fueled productivity boom that could rival the Industrial Revolution; not fifty years from now, but potentially within this decade.

To put this in perspective: just 3 years ago, experts predicted it would take at least 19 years before AI systems could achieve a gold-level performance on the International Mathematical Olympiad—one of the toughest math competitions on the planet. This summer, OpenAI and Google DeepMind both reached that milestone. Their models solved five out of six Olympiad problems…at gold medal level…within the 4.5-hour time limit, working entirely in natural language. That’s acceleration. What was once nearly two decades away is already here.

AI systems are no longer stuck in theoretical labs or futuristic speculation. They are actively reshaping logistics, media, medicine, finance—and yes, they will reshape ministry. Many of the daily, repetitive, and decision-heavy tasks that consume your time can now be streamlined or augmented with these tools. And this shift is happening whether the church engages or not.

The opportunity in front of us isn’t about chasing the next shiny object. It’s about redeeming our time and reclaiming our core calling. Ephesians 4 tells us that pastors are called to equip the saints for ministry, not to drown in emails, build Canva slides, or summarize meeting notes. AI gives us a chance to climb out of the weeds and back into wisdom work.

Introducing the Church Leadership AI Ladder

If you’re like most pastors and church leaders, the rise of Artificial Intelligence feels like a lot to process. You’ve probably heard it’s powerful, but maybe also risky. Some see it as a passing tech trend; others worry it’s poised to take over deeply human work.

But what if there were a way to approach AI without hype or fear?

What if there were a tool that could help you start simply and grow steadily, redeeming time, reducing stress, and refocusing your energy on the ministry work only you can do?

That’s why we created the Church Leadership AI Ladder.

It’s a guide to help you start where you are and move toward higher-order leadership. Each rung on the ladder represents a type of work, beginning with the most repetitive and time-consuming, and rising toward the most meaningful and human.

Here’s the big idea: Don’t start with AI’s most complex potential. Start by using it to take tasks off your plate.

• Rung 1 is your on-ramp. These are the tasks that AI can already do better, faster, or cheaper than a busy pastor with a full inbox—like writing summaries, scheduling meetings, or prepping sermon research.

As you move up the ladder, you’ll find ways to streamline communication, enhance sermon prep, clarify ministry strategy, and even shape team cultures—all with the help of AI tools that support, not supplant, your leadership.

• On Rung 2, communication tasks, such as social media captions and bulletin announcements, start to take less time and become more consistent.
• On Rung 3, sermon development and devotional writing become more collaborative, with AI acting as a research partner.
• On Rung 4, ministry strategy and planning gain clarity, as AI helps simulate campaigns and synthesize data.
• On Rung 5, organizational leadership becomes more human, as AI quietly assists with onboarding, team feedback, and decision support.

This approach isn’t about chasing every new tool or trend.

 It’s about one simple shift: use AI to replace work so you can reclaim time.

And not just a few minutes here and there; I believe that leaders who consistently follow this approach will save hours of work every week. That adds up to days each month. And over time, it transforms how you lead.

Imagine reinvesting the time saved into what truly matters…prayer, vision, coaching leaders, discipling people, and discerning what’s next for your church.

Don’t let AI stay in the realm of novelty or anxiety.
Let this ladder be your guide. Start at Rung 1, with saving time, and then climb higher.
Just by reclaiming time, you’ll be more fueled for the ministry you were called to lead.

The goal is to start at the bottom of the ladder and work your way up over time.

Rung 1: Admin Support

Entry-Level: Save Time. Simplify Operations.

This is the most common starting point for pastors integrating AI, and with good reason. Leaders are tapping AI to lighten the administrative load that clutters their week.

• Summarizing email threads: Pastors use ChatGPT to condense lengthy team conversations, generating quick updates that keep them informed without requiring a thorough review of all emails.
• Inbox management: Use a tool like Fyxer to draft responses to your emails that you simply make small tweaks to, saving as much as an hour a day.
• Financial report summarization: Drop your monthly or quarterly finance team report into ChatGPT and get a plain-language summary you can actually understand and communicate—no spreadsheets, just clear trends and insights.
• First-pass sermon research: Tools like SermonDone can instantly generate sermon outlines, biblical references, illustrations, and historical context—all tailored to your topic or passage. Instead of spending hours on preliminary research, pastors get a strong first draft in minutes, freeing up time for prayer, personal study, and refining the message for their unique audience.
• Auto-generating blog posts: Sermon notes are dropped into AI tools and returned as readable blog drafts in seconds—what used to take 30 minutes now takes 3.
• Meeting follow-up summaries: Use a tool like Otter to receive concise recaps and action items for team distribution, no more scrambling to remember what was discussed.
• Job description writing: Generate polished, ministry-specific role descriptions for staff or volunteers in seconds, perfect for growing teams.
• Scheduling support: Calendar assistants block off time for deep work, manage meetings, and reduce context-switching fatigue.
• Sunday service SOP creation: Record voice notes throughout a typical Sunday using the Dictaphone app or your phone’s native recorder. Transcribe the audio with AI, then ask ChatGPT to generate a step-by-step Standard Operating Procedure for pre-service, service, and post-service tasks that others can follow.
• Expense categorization assistance: Upload expense reports or reimbursements and let ChatGPT help categorize and/or flag inconsistencies, like a virtual bookkeeper double-checking your admin work.

If you’re new to AI, this is the rung to explore first. It’s low-risk, high-reward, and removes distractions so you can focus more deeply on people.

Rung 2: Communications

Mid-Level: Consistency Without the Grind

Announcements, email updates, bulletins, and social posts eat up valuable hours. AI is already helping church teams streamline these repetitive but important communication tasks.

• Bulletin prep: Use Canva’s Magic Write to generate blurbs for Sunday bulletins or sermon series summaries.
• Subject line testing: A/B testing with AI-generated email subject lines has resulted in real increases in open rates for church-wide communications.
• Emotionally resonant posts: AI helps shape social media copy that better matches the tone of a sermon series or season, without sounding robotic.
• Video captioning and reels: Services like Captions.ai or Descript allow you to quickly cut down sermon clips and auto-caption them for Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube Shorts—amplifying your message without hours of editing.
• Website content creation: AI tools like Jasper can help generate optimized copy for your ministries, events, or landing pages—aligned with SEO and your unique church tone.

Think of AI here like a junior communications intern. It won’t replace your voice, but it can sharpen and scale it.

Rung 3: Pastoral Tasks

Creative Collaboration: Study, Teach, Disciple

Some leaders are going beyond admin to let AI act as a kind of theological assistant—helping draft outlines, spark fresh thinking, and create meaningful discipleship resources.

• Sermon development: Refine the sermon process with SermonDone & ChatGPT to explore different outlines or to test alternate angles on a biblical theme.
• Youth ministry support: Others use AI to brainstorm illustrations, rewrite complex theology for teens, or even create Bible trivia games and prayer prompts.
• Devotional content: Some are generating short devotionals from their sermons to use in follow-up emails, small groups, or staff huddles.
• Bible study prep: Some pastors use AI to compare commentaries, summarize key theological perspectives, or synthesize Greek/Hebrew definitions—all within minutes. Logos Bible Software now includes AI-assisted study functions to support this.
• Sermon discussion questions: After uploading their sermon manuscript or notes, leaders use AI to auto-generate thought-provoking discussion questions for small groups, teens, or campus conversations. Tools like SermonShots even integrate this with visual media for social or study use.

Used wisely, AI can sharpen your content while keeping your theology intact. It’s a co-creator, not the final authority.

Rung 4: Ministry Strategy

High-Leverage: Planning, Alignment, Optimization

A growing group of strategic thinkers are using AI to build momentum for big moments and clarify the arc of ministry throughout the year.

• Campaign planning: AI is being used to brainstorm themes for big days like Easter or Christmas, factoring in past campaigns, cultural trends, and theological depth.
• Annual sermon calendars: Some leaders incorporate church priorities and can receive a full year of preaching topics, which they then refine with their team.
• Data-driven decisions: A few churches are experimenting with AI to analyze giving, attendance, and engagement data for better forecasting and planning.

AI, at this level, becomes a strategic partner—helping you see patterns, plan proactively, and make smarter decisions with confidence.

Rung 5: Organizational Leadership

Culture, Coaching, and Team Empowerment

Even at the highest levels of church leadership, AI is playing a subtle but useful role—not replacing discernment, but offering structure and insight.

• Staff meeting prep: AI is being used to generate draft agendas based on recent events, project milestones, or ministry rhythms.
• Team health checks: Leaders are leveraging AI-powered surveys to assess team culture, flag issues early, and inform one-on-one.
• Onboarding support: New hires receive custom learning plans built by AI that orient them more quickly and highlight key documents or past training sessions.

At this rung, AI is about scaling your leadership, not your presence. It frees you to focus on culture, coaching, and calling.

The most effective church leaders using AI today view it not as a threat to ministry, but as a trusted assistant that enables them to do what only they can do: pastor people, shape vision, and teach the Word. They’re not outsourcing theology. They’re streamlining everything around it.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Skipping steps: Don’t jump straight to strategic uses. Start at the bottom of the ladder.
• Delegating discernment: AI can provide options, but it doesn’t hear from the Holy Spirit.
• Blind trust: Always review and contextualize content. Think of AI as a research assistant, not a ghostwriter.

More Time for Wisdom Work

When pastors spend all week stuck in admin or reactive communication, they miss their higher calling. As outlined in Amrop’s Wise Leadership and AI article, wisdom work is marked by:

• Making space for discernment
• Coaching leaders
• Shaping culture
• Encouraging spiritual maturity

That’s the work only you can do.

AI won’t do wisdom work for you. But it will give you the space to do more of it.

What to Do Next

1. Pick one task on the bottom rung—maybe inbox summaries or sermon research.
2. Try an AI tool—ChatGPT, Otter.ai, or Canva Magic Write.
3. Reinvest your saved time—into staff coaching, prayer, or vision conversations.

Let’s not repeat Mr. Lawson’s mistake: assuming the tools think for us. Let’s be wise, discerning leaders who harness AI to free us up for the ministry that matters most.

This is not about technology.

It’s about calling.

Use AI to reclaim yours.