Media Ministry & AI: How Your Church Can Benefit From Artificial Intelligence
Technology is advancing at a rapid pace, and the explosion of AI (artificial intelligence) in everyday life has created an even steeper curve for churches. While the Gospel message will never go out of style, the methods for delivering that message can always be enhanced. The advancement of AI technology makes it possible for churches to package the message of the Gospel in new and fresh ways. Here are a few short ideas on how churches can benefit from the ever-increasing presence of AI.
Content Creation
AI can help churches create compelling content for social media and other platforms, such as generating inspiring graphics or videos. In fact, Canva recently integrated AI into several of their creative tools such as Magic Design. Tools like Magic Design allow churches to upload one photo, and the AI will take care of the rest by creating and setting up the necessary design to make your graphics stand out. This type of integration that has been woven into design platforms can help any volunteer, at any level of experience, take your church's designs and graphics to the next level.
Craft Social Media Post
Every social media manager can understand the challenge of running out of eye-catching things to say. (I mean how many different ways can you say, “Sunday worship was good.” or “Join us for our revival”?) When this happens, platforms that utilize AI such as Notion and OpenAI can assist copywriters in crafting the perfect social media narrative for your church’s content. You give the AI and idea and it takes it from there. You can say, “write a social media post about joining us for a year long bible study” and the AI can do it. Of course, I recommend tweaking what the AI will give you to ensure it is on brand with the tone and tenor of your church.
Email Marketing & Communication
Email marketing is not a new concept. It has been around for ages and is still known as one of the best ways to communicate with large groups of people (although I personally prefer mass text messaging systems). Email platforms that integrate AI into their systems can be a great asset to those who work in the communications and marketing departments of our churches. AI can help churches communicate with members and visitors in a more personalized way, using chatbots or other automated tools that can be found in many email marketing platforms such as Mailchimp. Again, I advise revising what the chatbot and AI systems generate to fit the brand of your church, but it’s always a great start and can help your staff be more efficient in their workflow.
Social Media Algorithm
The platforms we love to use and often post to are using AI every day to create algorithms that show content that we enjoy and is specific to our interests. Churches can take advantage of the algorithm by paying attention to specific social media trends. While it's not necessary for churches to chase every trend to be relevant on social media, understanding algorithms and social trends can give your church’s content creators and designers a slight advantage. As I have mentioned repeatedly on this blog, it is in a church's best interest to pay attention to the algorithm of the platform that it is using. This algorithm determines whether our content is viewed by many people or by few.
—
AI technology has the potential to revolutionize the way churches create and deliver content to their congregations and communities. By embracing AI, churches can improve their brand, digital presence, and their outreach efforts. Although this blog post primarily discusses how AI can be used for media ministries in particular, the use of AI has the potential to make any church or ministry more effect and efficient.
It is important to remember that AI can never replace genuine human creativity in ministry. I still believe that God is the ultimate creator and master of creativity. God can give you ideas and influence your work in a way that artificial intelligence never could. However, the possibilities for the use of AI in ministry are endless, and it's an exciting time to explore the ways in which this technology can help churches as they seek to the spread of the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
