Pastors and AI: New Survey Reveals Growing Use, Lack of Church Guidelines
A majority of pastors believe their churches need policies outlining the responsible use of artificial intelligence, yet few say their congregations have adopted such guidelines, according to a new Barna survey.
The poll comes amid growing debate over the ethical use of AI in churches, particularly as pastors increasingly turn to the technology. Only 13 percent of pastors say they never use AI, while roughly one-third use it for research (36 percent) and another one-third use it to generate small group ideas and handle administrative tasks (34 percent). Nearly one in four pastors (24 percent) say they use AI to write or edit sermons.
The Barna survey found that 94 percent of pastors believe a church should have guidelines for responsible AI use, yet only 21 percent of pastors say their church currently has such guidance. Only 4 percent of pastors say their church’s policy is formal.
Hershael W. York, professor of Christian preaching at Southern Seminary in Louisville, Ky., and dean of the seminary’s School of Theology, warned pastors against the use of AI in an October podcast, saying it’s acceptable as a research tool but presents temptations that traditional research methods do not.
“No other generation of preachers before us has ever struggled with whether or not to use artificial intelligence to help them craft a sermon, but they have faced the struggle of how to cut corners, how to plagiarize, how to steal the work of others, even how to pay others to do your work,” York said.
“... In one sense, this isn't a new struggle. I think the goal is and should always be that we stand before our people with a word from God that we have seen in the Scripture that the Holy Spirit has made vital in our hearts and lives, and that we are sharing with them because God's done something with it in our own lives. That's the goal. I mean, none of us want to stand up and preach in a way that we've not been affected.”
The temptation of AI, York said, is how easily it can produce a sermon. He’s experimented with it himself and has been surprised by how closely it can mimic his preaching style.
“I've asked these AI bots to write a sermon in the voice of Hershael York, and I'm stunned at how well they do it. Now, being me and evaluating how they characterize me, I'd say they're about 80 percent right, about 80 percent okay. But I think they lose the 20 percent of, to me, what's the fun part of the sermon, and that's the crafting it, the way I say it, the way I think.”
The problem for pastors, he said, becomes when “we're just preaching because it's our job.”
“I want to preach what God has done through the text in my heart, in my life.”
York said pastors should approach AI with caution, recognizing that the technology can produce inaccurate information and tempt them to rely on it for more than research.
“AI purports to be your friend, but is not a faithful friend. AI can lie to you. It can get things wrong,” he said. “To use AI as a souped-up research tool akin to Google — I'm okay with that, but I'm just going to warn you that the temptation to let it do more than that is going to be there, and that has to lie in your heart.”
Pastors who use AI to write their sermons, he said, are “reducing shepherding God's people to a task rather than a relationship.”
“The best way I can put it is: AI has no soul. It has no soul. You can't preach the heart of Jesus when you're getting it from artificial intelligence instead of your walk with the Holy Spirit through the text of Scripture that God has inspired, and preaching it to the people He's given you to shepherd. I can't tell you, don't ever use AI. It can be a great research tool, but I'm saying beware the temptation to step over that line of research into the line of crafting of the sermon, and really of shepherding the hearts of your people; it can't do that for you. That's on you.”
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Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
Listen to Michael's Podcast! He is the host of Crosswalk Talk, a podcast where he talks with Christian movie stars, musicians, directors, and more. Hear how famous Christian figures keep their faith a priority in Hollywood and discover the best Christian movies, books, television, and other entertainment. You can find Crosswalk Talk on LifeAudio.com, or subscribe on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an interview that will be sure to encourage your faith.
Originally published October 09, 2026.
