AI
Alex has been reflecting on AI, mission and the questions people are already asking.
The AI Guidelines for Christian Ministry is a thoughtful and helpful contribution to an important conversation. Its emphasis on the irreplaceable nature of human relationships is particularly valuable. It rightly encourages churches not simply to ask, “How can we use AI?” but also, “When should we not use AI?”
I have found it very helpful.
I wonder, though, if there is one area that perhaps deserves a little more attention: mission and evangelism, not simply as something the Church does with AI, but as something that is already happening through AI.
The Guidelines identify four areas for consideration within the life of the church. They also rightly mention evangelism and mission support. But I wonder if there is a further dimension: the place of AI in the journey of faith. How might the Spirit be at work drawing people towards faith through AI outside of the Church? And how might the Church and the Christian disciple “be ready to give an answer” as we discover people who are discovering Jesus through AI? Could this “missional” work of AI perhaps be a key fifth dimension we might want to consider?
The emerging statistics are interesting and, while they need further research and refinement, point in a significant direction:
54% of UK adults now use AI tools such as ChatGPT, Copilot or Gemini, rising to 79% among 16–24-year-olds and 74% among 25–34-year-olds. Around 12% of AI users use these tools for conversational purposes, rising to 19% among 25–34-year-olds. (Ofcom, 2026)
18% of British adults say they have used AI for advice about personal problems or issues. This includes 11% who have used AI as a companion or someone to talk to, and 9% who have used it as a substitute for a therapist or counsellor. (Ipsos, 2025; representative survey of 2,189 GB adults aged 16–75)
31% of regular UK large-language-model users report using AI for personal and emotional support, including talking through problems and asking for help with decisions. A quarter say they use LLMs for meaningful conversation, while 38% trust LLMs for advice about personal relationships. (Oxford Internet Institute, 2026; survey of 2,000 UK adults)
One third (33%) of UK respondents have used AI for companionship, emotional support or social interaction during the previous year. This included 8% using AI for these purposes every week and 4% every day. (UK AI Security Institute, 2025; 2,028 UK participants)
7% of the UK public have personally used a mental-health chatbot, equivalent to approximately two million people. (Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation/Attitudes to AI, 2025)
The Church therefore needs to think not only about how Christians should use AI, but also about what happens when people use AI to explore questions that eventually lead towards faith.
If AI is becoming one of the places where people make sense of their lives, perhaps it should also become a place where they can encounter thoughtful, truthful and accessible Christian perspectives—and, crucially, be invited from the screen into Scripture, prayer, Christian community and relationship with real people.
That feels less like adopting a new technology well—vital as that is—and more like recognising a new mission field.
The Guidelines do mention “evangelism and mission support”, including examples such as translating evangelistic material and using AI to help communicate the Gospel. That is important. But the missional opportunity is arguably broader. The question is not only, “How can AI help Christians evangelise?” It is also, “What happens when someone who is not a Christian turns to AI to explore God, Jesus, suffering, death, purpose or faith?”
Increasingly, AI is becoming a place where people can ask questions they might never feel comfortable asking a Christian. It is private, available at any hour, apparently non-judgemental and able to sustain a conversation for as long as someone wants. For a person who is curious about Christianity but nervous about walking into a church, talking to a minister or admitting their doubts to friends, that could be significant.
There are already signs of this emerging. People are using AI for spiritual support and religious questions, while new Christian tools are deliberately being developed as places where people can explore Scripture and ask difficult questions. Academic discussion is also beginning to consider the potential of “spiritual chatbots”, while stressing that such tools should never simply become replacements for pastors or priests.
The danger, of course, is that someone exploring Christianity may receive an answer that is inaccurate, shallow or shaped by assumptions they do not recognise. Research comparing AI systems has found significant differences in how they answer major Christian questions: some responses broadly point towards Christian faith, some away from it, and others present competing perspectives more equally. AI can sound remarkably confident while being wrong—which the Guidelines themselves rightly identify as a major concern. It can also reflect biases or assumptions contained within the data and systems on which it is built.
But perhaps this should lead the Church not only to caution, but also to presence.
What if churches saw AI as a new kind of mission field? Not because we believe AI can replace Christian witness, but because it may become one of the places where people begin their journey towards faith.
That could mean developing high-quality, transparent Christian resources that answer common questions about Jesus, God, suffering, the Bible, sexuality, doubt, science, prayer and death. It could mean creating AI experiences that are honest about their limitations, clearly Christian in their theological foundations, and designed to move people beyond the screen towards Scripture, prayer, community and real relationships.
It could also mean helping ordinary Christians become better equipped for the questions AI is generating. If someone says, “I asked ChatGPT about Christianity and it told me…”, that should perhaps be welcomed as the beginning of a conversation rather than treated simply as a technological problem.
The opportunity is especially significant because AI can meet people before they identify themselves as seekers. Someone may begin by asking a seemingly philosophical or personal question—and only gradually discover that their question has a spiritual dimension.
The Church has always adapted its methods while holding firmly to its message. Printing, radio, television, websites and social media have all created new opportunities for people to encounter the Gospel. AI may be another such environment.
The central principle of the Guidelines remains—in my opinion—right: AI must never replace the human, relational heart of Christian ministry. But perhaps that is precisely why the Church should not only seek to manage AI, but also engage missionally with the new space it is creating.
Rather than seeing AI only as a tool the Church needs to manage, we might also ask whether it is becoming a place where God is already meeting people with questions—and whether the Church is ready to join the conversation.
This post was written by me and the thinking is mine. I used AI to check for errors and give feedback on the drafts.