Examining AI in the Church
Field notes from a physician building AI for ministry. For pastors and leaders making decisions on behalf of the congregations they serve.
Pastors and church leaders are getting a lot of first opinions about AI right now, mostly from people selling something. I am a believer of more than forty years, a physician, and a clinical informaticist, and I am building AI for ministry myself. The work here runs along three tracks. The theological track is for leaders sitting with the question of whether AI should be used in religion at all. The landscape track surveys what is actually happening across the church-AI space -- the surveys, the trends, the data worth tracking. The practical track is for leaders who have decided to engage and now need to evaluate tools, vendors, and deployment well. Pick the one that fits where you are.
Is AI in the Church Even Okay?
The cornerstone of the Examining AI in the Church series -- a believer's framework for the theological questions that come before any practical decision.
Before deciding which AI tool to adopt, ministry leaders are wrestling with whether to engage AI at all. A believer's framework for the theological, eschatological, and pastoral questions that come before the practical ones.
Read the Essay13
min read
Starting Point
The Theological Series
Wrestling with the questions that come before any practical decision: the eschatological, the theological, the question of authority, the question of formation, and the question of discernment.
Five AI Predictions for the Church: A Physician's Response
A data-led response to ReachRight's five predictions on AI's impact on the church, from the vantage of a physician, a clinical informaticist, and a believer building ministry AI in public.
Forty percent of practicing Christians are using AI for spiritual guidance. Sixty-four percent of pastors use it for sermons. Five percent of churches have a policy. A clinician's reading of the data behind ReachRight's five predictions about AI in the church.
Read the Essay15
min read
Starting Point
The Landscape Series
Surveys, statistics, and signals worth tracking. Reading what is actually happening across the church-AI space, with the data and the calibration to interpret it.
What Medicine and Tech Taught Me About AI in the Church
The cornerstone of the Examining AI in the Church series -- a physician's framework for ministry leaders making AI decisions for their congregations.
Five lessons from scrutinizing technology in clinical medicine, applied to the questions ministry leaders are facing right now. The framework I wish someone had handed me when I started thinking about AI in the church.
Read the Essay9
min read
Starting Point
The Practical Series
For church leadership that wants to understand the technology. Frameworks, foundational concepts, the Selah build, tool evaluations, and risk and safety -- written for leaders who need to evaluate vendor claims and deploy responsibly.
Speaking, Advising, Consulting
I speak to ministry leaders, denominational gatherings, and conferences on AI in the church. I also work directly with churches and ministry organizations evaluating AI tools or considering custom AI initiatives. If your community is wrestling with these questions, reach out below.
Inquiry Received
Troy will be in touch.
About Troy
Troy Sybert is a physician trained at the Mayo Clinic with more than two decades in internal medicine, preventive medicine, public health, and clinical informatics. His current work as a physician helps shape how AI gets adopted into care environments where the cost of getting it wrong is measured in human harm. He is the founder of Voice of Repentance Ministries and the builder of Selah, a fine-tuned ministry AI in active development.
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