There's a remarkable paradox unfolding in the church today. While 91% of church leaders now support the use of AI in ministry and 61% use it weekly or daily, the deeper question remains largely unaddressed: Are we leading or merely reacting?
Alfred Beetler, who spent 13 years at Google London finishing as Head of Innovation, recently shared a perspective that cuts to the heart of this tension: "The biggest thing that holds us back from what God's been creating for us is a spirit of fear." Drawing on 2 Timothy 1:7—"God has not given us a spirit of fear"—Beetler challenges us to see AI not as a monster to avoid but as a catalyst for conversations the world is desperately ready to have.
A World Asking Questions It Never Asked Before
Here's what makes this moment uniquely missional: AI isn't just changing how we work—it's fundamentally disrupting how people think about their worth, purpose, and future.
A 2024 study published in Frontiers in Psychology revealed staggering levels of existential anxiety connected to AI advancement. Among 300 participants, 92.7% reported anxiety about meaninglessness in an AI-dominated world, while 96% expressed fear about mortality and humanity's future. The World Economic Forum estimates that AI will disrupt 85 million jobs globally while creating 97 million new roles, requiring roughly 40% of the global workforce to reskill within a few years.
These aren't abstract statistics—they represent real people wrestling with profound questions: What is my value? Where do I fit? What will the future hold? As Beetler observed, "There's a flurry of new questions coming from people in the street about things they would have never asked before. I'm quite excited about that opportunity."
This is precisely the opening the gospel was designed for. While the world grapples with questions of meaning, identity, and purpose in an age of intelligent machines, the church holds the answers people are desperately seeking. The question is whether we'll be present for the conversation or absent due to fear.
From Fear to Faith-Filled Innovation
The data tells an encouraging story of growing engagement. According to the 2025 State of AI in the Church Survey, pastoral AI adoption has jumped dramatically—from just 8.7% who believed churches should "enthusiastically embrace AI" in 2023 to 87% who now support its use. Weekly or daily AI use among pastors rose from 43% in 2024 to 61% in 2025, with 82% believing AI will make their churches more effective in the next five years.
Yet beneath these promising numbers lies a troubling gap: 73% of churches have no AI policy whatsoever. Most applications remain limited to administrative tasks—communications, data analysis, and event planning.
This suggests many churches have adopted AI's convenience without embracing its missional potential. We've welcomed the tool while avoiding the transformation.
Beetler's insight from decades of innovation work applies here: "The fear of failure, the fear of saying 'we've never done it like that,' or 'that's going to cost too much money'—that's holding us back from getting where God wants us to be."
Translation, Productivity, and Gospel Acceleration
The missional implications of faithful AI engagement are already visible in translation work. According to Wycliffe statistics, in 1999, more than 5,000 languages lacked any Bible translation. As of August 2025, that number has dropped to just 544 languages. Since 1999, Bible translation movements have engaged more than 4,600 languages that previously had no Scripture access.
AI is playing a significant role in this acceleration. At the 2024 Global Missional AI Summit, Biblica reported that AI has reduced the Bible translation process by up to 25 years in some languages. Organizations like Avodah Connect are using AI to potentially compress 20-25 year translation timelines down to 4-5 years while maintaining quality through human oversight.
Beyond translation, AI enhances missionary productivity in practical ways—handling administrative tasks, drafting communications, analyzing data—so workers can spend more time building relationships and having gospel conversations. As Beetler noted, "They can spend less time cranking a handle and more time speaking to people."
Collaborative Intelligence, Not Replacement
Perhaps the most important distinction Beetler makes is that AI functions best as a collaborative tool, not a replacement for human wisdom and spiritual discernment.
"AI is really good at understanding language," he explained. "But there's a ton of other input needed that understands the nuance of jokes, culture, and other things which requires discernment to interpret." His approach—getting responses from AI and then arguing with them, refining through dialogue—points to a model of engagement that maintains human agency and spiritual oversight.
This aligns with what research from Frontier Ventures with mission leaders across Africa reveals: while only 12.5% describe themselves as "highly eager" about AI, 45.3% believe it will positively impact mission work when used correctly. As one African mission leader put it, "AI is an enabler of our mission work; we should use it and not let it use us."
The late Pope Francis captured this balanced vision at the 2024 G7 summit, calling AI "the dawn of a cognitive industrial revolution" while emphasizing that technology must serve humanity, not the reverse. AI's success, he argued, should be judged not by profit but by whether it protects human dignity, strengthens our shared humanity, and improves quality of life—especially for the vulnerable.
The Opportunity Before Us
The Hartford Institute for Religion Research has noted an interesting pattern: ministries that adopt digital tools often report higher spiritual vitality and optimism than those that don't. Technology use appears associated with congregational thriving.
Yet a 2025 Pew Research study found that 73% of Americans believe AI should play no role in advising people about their faith. This isn't a contradiction—it's a clarification of boundaries. People don't want machines providing spiritual counsel, but they desperately need communities of faith equipped to address the existential questions this technological moment is provoking.
The church stands at a crossroads. We can remain paralyzed by fear of this "monster," as Beetler described the common posture, missing a historic opportunity. Or we can root ourselves in what God is saying—not what we're afraid might happen—and lead with truth into conversations the world is newly ready to have.
As Beetler reminds us, the spirit of fear isn't from God. What might happen if we truly believed that?
Missional AI Summit 2026 at SiliconValley
MAI 2026 isn't just a conference—it's a movement of Christians engaging AI as builders and leaders, not merely respondents. A movement believing technology can serve human flourishing when guided by Kingdom principles. A movement declaring: Redemptive AI isn't just possible—it's part of our calling.
Early bird registrations are now open. We'll soon share speaker lineup details, specific track descriptions, and year-round community engagement opportunities.
We hope you'll join us in Silicon Valley.
