MyDeacon makes one of the tools mentioned below. We've tried to describe the others fairly, from their makers' own descriptions. Features change quickly, so check each tool's current details before you choose.
1. Bible study and research
Logos Bible Software adds AI features to a large study library: Smart Search to find relevant passages and books, and AI summaries that link back to their sources so you can check the original. Its Sermon Assistant offers outline and illustration ideas, and Logos has said it will not build a feature that writes sermons, calling that a pastoral responsibility.
General assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini are useful for background reading, word studies, brainstorming and questions you'd ask a well-read friend. They can also be confidently wrong, so check anything that matters against Scripture and trusted sources.
2. After the sermon: clips, guides and devotionals
Pulpit AI, part of Subsplash since December 2024, takes a recorded sermon and drafts follow-up content: transcripts, captioned clips, small group discussion guides, devotionals, summaries and recap emails. The pastor reviews the transcript, key points and Scripture references before anything is shared.
3. Writing and communication
General assistants help with first drafts of announcements, newsletters, volunteer emails and policies, and with tightening something you've already written. Treat the output as a draft: read it aloud, make it sound like you, and check every date and name.
4. Graphics and media
Design tools like Canva now include AI features for layouts, image edits and resizing a sermon graphic for every channel. Be careful with AI-generated images of people, and never create images of real members without their permission.
5. Staff administration
This is where MyDeacon fits. It's an AI assistant for church staff: it texts or calls each staff member with their plan every morning, keeps their tasks, calendar and hours current through the day, turns staff meeting notes into assigned tasks, and gives the pastor one weekly view of the team. It works alongside Planning Center rather than replacing it, and nothing sends without a staff member approving it. See how it manages church staff work.
MyDeacon doesn't help with sermons, design or congregation messaging. Use the tools above for those.
If your church uses Planning Center, it also has AI features of its own. Here's what Planning Center offers and how MyDeacon works with it.
Should churches use AI?
Many already are. A Barna study commissioned by Pushpay and published in March 2026 found that a majority of U.S. church leaders use AI at least once a month, but only 5% said their church had guidelines for it.
The better question is where. A few lines most church leaders draw:
- The message stays the preacher's. AI can help find and organize, but study, prayer and conviction can't be outsourced.
- Pastoral care stays human. No tool should counsel, comfort or discern on a pastor's behalf.
- A person approves what goes out. Anything sent in the church's name should be read and approved by someone accountable for it.
- Be honest about it. If AI helped make something, don't pretend otherwise when someone asks.
Privacy: what not to paste into AI tools
Counseling notes, prayer requests shared in confidence, children's information, giving records and personnel matters deserve extra care. Before using any tool with church information, find out whether it uses your data to train its models, who can see it, and whether you can turn that off. Planning Center, for example, says it does not use church data to train AI models. Ask the same question of every tool you use, including ours.
Then write it down. Even a one-page AI policy that says which tools are approved, what data never goes into them and who approves outgoing content puts a church ahead of most.
Questions
Is it wrong for a pastor to use AI?
Most Christian leaders treat AI like other tools: fine for the right jobs, wrong for others. The common line is that AI may assist with research and administration, while the preaching, discernment and care remain the pastor's.
Can AI replace church staff?
Not the ministry. AI can take busywork off a team, like reminders, scheduling, notes and follow-ups, so people have more time for the work only people can do.
Is there a free way to start?
Most general assistants have free tiers, and many church tools offer trials. MyDeacon has a 30-day free trial. Whatever you try, start with low-risk tasks and keep private information out until you've checked the tool's policies.