In April, nearly 1,000 Christians working at the intersection of mission and AI gather in Silicon Valley for the Missional AI 2026 Global Summit. In this episode, host James Poulter (JP) sits down with two members of the summit's leadership team to walk through what's planned, why this year feels different, and how to make the most of three packed days.
Moving the summit to Silicon Valley puts the community in the backyard of the people building AI, and it cost less than many assumed.
The summit has grown from a virtual first year to Dallas, two years in Orlando and back to Dallas in 2025, where nearly 600 leaders gathered. It began in the Bible translation world and has broadened to people building kingdom initiatives across many areas. Last year also saw a real arrival of believers from big tech companies looking for community.
For Joshua, moving to Silicon Valley always felt inevitable; it was a question of when, not if. The team priced four cities: Atlanta, Dallas, Orlando and Silicon Valley. Despite California's reputation, Silicon Valley was only the second most expensive, and only slightly more than the cheapest. After seeing people fly in from Meta and Google last year, holding the summit in their backyard felt like a trade-off worth making.
Yvonne loves going where the innovators are. Christians have been innovating for centuries, back to the Gutenberg Bible, and Silicon Valley is today's epicenter. Believers in big tech often see where models and products are heading before the rest of us, and many deeply want to serve God in their workplace. This is their chance to help shape what the community calls redemptive AI.
This year's summit is designed as a narrative journey, with fewer talks and more room for connection.
The official theme is Advancing Redemptive Technology for Human Flourishing and the Mission of God. In past years, Joshua admits, the team packed as many brilliant people into keynote slots as possible. It made for a great summit, but left too little space for people to connect. This year, the program is built as a deliberate journey:
Technology will either enhance humanity or detract from it, so the summit asks what it really takes to build for flourishing.
For Yvonne, the language of human flourishing is exactly where the conversation needs to go. The core question for builders and ministry leaders, as she's heard it put: Is this leading me to Jesus, or away from Jesus? Flourishing is more than self-actualization at the top of Maslow's hierarchy. It's mind, body and soul, oriented toward heaven and growing in faith. Building experiences that support that is easier said than done, because every design decision affects someone's spiritual formation.
JP notes that the community has spent the past few years on whether we could do things with AI. Now, with talk of superintelligence and AI consciousness, the more pressing question is whether we should. Can Christians really move the needle?
Joshua believes the church must show up. He's proud that this movement was relatively early to AI, unlike earlier shifts such as social media and mobile. Even The Economist noticed: a December article on missionaries aiming to translate the Bible into every language by 2033 described how believers are enlisting AI in that quest, and quoted Daniel Whitenack. The aim now is to share what's working and to be proactive, thinking deeply about both the challenges and the opportunities rather than just reacting.
The Innovations in AI segment features leaders who are already using AI at scale for the kingdom:
JP sees the conversation broadening into content creation, worship and prayer. Yvonne is excited by how organizations are embracing AI agents across finance, creative teams and frontline ministry, not to replace staff but to extend them. She's also looking forward to the ethics conversation with leaders like Dr. John Lennox and James Kelly: What does it mean to honor our personhood while using a technology that questions what it means to be human? Because this community began with Bible translators, she says, it's deeply rooted in God's Word, "not just tech speak."
Dr. Lennox will appear throughout the summit through an exclusive interview recorded ahead of the event, engaging with each of the conference themes. Expect more than a dozen demos and pitches too, so you can see what's being built, not just hear about it.
As the community grows, the summit is making more intentional space for connection, and Yvonne has advice even for introverts.
With nearly 1,000 people, many attending for the first time, it's natural to miss the days of 50 people huddled around a coffee shop. Last year, the summit met in a borrowed church space and had to clear out by late afternoon for a midweek service. This year, there's no such limit, so conversations can run as early and late as people like.
The program also includes dedicated connection sessions:
The team chose to schedule fewer talks to make room for that kind of serendipity. As Joshua puts it, there's great value in hearing from experts, but the community itself is full of brilliant people.
Yvonne, a self-described INTJ, offers practical advice:
Joshua's final encouragement: prepare to be engaged in every way, intellectually through speakers like Dr. Lennox, inspired by the demos and pitches, and personally through the connection sessions. Even as a fellow introvert, he says, this community is special, and the most brilliant people in this space will be all around you. Lean in, show up and stay present.
The Missional AI 2026 Global Summit takes place April 7–9, 2026, right after Easter, in Silicon Valley. Get your ticket and book the hotel room block at missional.ai before rooms run out. Already registered? Think of three or four people who should be there and send them the link.
Subscribe to the Missional AI Podcast wherever you listen, and join the Missional AI Slack community. Coming up: the future of AI agents, the missional community and digital technology in Bible translation.
This episode was made possible in partnership with Gloo, the technology platform connecting the faith ecosystem.