Pastors Want AI Rules, but Few Have Them
Only 4% of US Protestant churches have a formal AI policy, according to Barna Group.
Barna Group surveyed 442 Protestant pastors in the United States in December 2025. 94% want AI rules for their church; only 4% say theirs has a formal policy.
The gap between wanting and having
That contrast has two halves. In theory, 49% of pastors lean toward informal guidance and 45% toward a written policy; only 6% believe none is needed. In practice, 17% offer guidance without a document and 79% have neither.
I believe the gap isn't technical but governance-related: no one knows who decides, who reviews, and who answers. The data doesn't explain that distance. The study is part of the State of the Church initiative, done with Gloo, which tracks how AI is shaping people's faith.
«Integrity is not delegated to an algorithm.»
Where AI already works
Almost all pastors already use these tools: only 13% say they don't. Half use them to generate ideas; 36% to research biblical or theological topics; 34% for small group questions and administrative tasks; and 24% to write or edit sermons.
Daniel Copeland, Barna's vice president of research, describes that pattern as behind-the-scenes work: support for studying and organizing, not a replacement for what happens when the pastor is with people.
Trust changes depending on the use. 64% are okay with AI helping build curricula for small groups or Bible studies. It drops to 37% for prayers, 33% for worship songs, 29% for interpreting Scripture, 27% for writing a sermon, and 10% for spiritual counseling.
Sharon Hodde Miller, co-lead pastor of Bright City Church in Raleigh-Durham, spoke at Barna's virtual event Preaching in the Age of AI. She said it's easy to think it doesn't matter how a sermon is prepared if the message is correct and edifies. For her, integrity weighs as much or more than the result, and that's why she encourages preachers to cite their sources and name their influences.
Carey Nieuwhof, author, podcaster, and founder of the Art of Leadership Academy, gave practical advice on a Barna Faith & Culture Report podcast: write the first draft yourself, pray and wrestle with the blank page, and only then take the text to AI. His conscience test is direct: "If you're uncomfortable saying how you use AI, you're using it too much" (Sígueme translation).
Rules a young person can propose
A policy opens concrete questions: who writes it, who oversees it, and what happens when someone doesn't follow it. Since technology advances quickly, the document would need revisions. Barna notes that a leadership team that defines how to use AI and how not to gains alignment among its ministries and transparency before the congregation.
Here's where you come in. If you serve in social media, sound, or projection, or prepare devotionals for your group, you already make decisions about AI every week. Faithfulness in small things sustains big things: "One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much" (Luke 16:10, ESV). Integrity is not delegated to an algorithm.
You can propose three things without fear: that it be stated when AI was used, that what is taught goes through biblical review, and that a person—not the tool—has the final say. It's not distrust or faith in the program; it's stewardship.
Start this week: ask your church if any guidance exists and offer your help to write it. Does your church have them? Who should write them?
