"This AI Moment Is a Gospel Moment" with Yvonne Carlson

What if language, one of the greatest barriers to sharing the gospel with billions of people, were suddenly no longer an issue? For centuries, missionaries have learned new languages and translators have labored over Scripture to bridge that divide. Yvonne Carlson believes AI is changing what's possible.

Yvonne is chief technology officer at Global Media Outreach (GMO), a board member of FaithTech and part of the Missional AI leadership team. With a background in software engineering and deep roots in the IEEE Computer Society, she's passionate about championing builders and helping organizations create solutions that further gospel work. At GMO, she's pioneering AI for digital evangelism and discipleship.

We sat down with Yvonne at Missional AI London 2025, shortly after her talk on the main stage.

From ads to one-on-one conversations

GMO uses AI to meet seekers where they are, whether they want answers now or a conversation with a real person.

GMO's model is digital evangelism and discipleship. It uses online ads to share the gospel, then aims to connect each seeker with an online missionary. Chatbots help, because faith journeys are rarely linear. A seeker can connect with a person when they're ready, or get their questions answered so they can keep growing in their own time.

Across the missional community, Yvonne sees people asking good questions about how AI fits their context. Its great promise is scale with individual care: moving beyond hyper-personalized content to interactions that feel truly one-on-one, whether with a chatbot or with an online missionary supported by an AI assistant offering responses and materials.

Language is no longer the barrier

AI translation is now good enough that a ministry's reach no longer depends on the languages its team speaks, though culture still matters.

For Yvonne, this is the game changer. Real-time translation and translation of materials into many languages are improving so quickly that errors are far rarer than they used to be. Organizations shaping their mission and vision no longer have to limit themselves to the languages of their team. They can truly reach the whole world.

Culture still requires care. Spanish in Spain isn't the same as Spanish in Mexico, and building rapport with a seeker means getting localization and context right. There's work still to do, but Yvonne is confident it will be solved.

A co-pilot for online missionaries

GMO's message assistant helps missionaries respond well and notice spiritual growth, so digital conversations can feel more like real relationships.

The tool Yvonne is most excited about is GMO's message assistant, a co-pilot for online missionaries. It suggests responses and helpful materials, and it updates each seeker's spiritual profile as signs of growth appear. If someone mentions they've started praying, the system notices. Using natural language processing and pattern analysis, the team can understand more deeply where people are coming from.

The goal is a more meaningful experience, because it's ultimately about human connection. Meet someone on the street and you'd naturally build rapport: where did you grow up, where did you go to school? The question is how to do something similar in a digital context.

A word to builders: this AI moment is a gospel moment

Builders have never had better tools, but they'll make the most of them by working together instead of reinventing the wheel.

"As a builder, we have the best in terms of opportunities," Yvonne says. "I've never seen anything like this in my life." The challenge is that there are now so many ways to solve any problem. That's why community matters, and why she loves FaithTech: builders tackling the same problem with different approaches can learn from each other.

She sees too much reinvention of the wheel in the faith-based space, spending dollars that could be stewarded better. She'd love more partnerships, where organizations build different parts of the same system. Partnership has long been easier said than done, but these tools make it more possible than ever.

At FaithTech, they say, "This AI moment is a gospel moment." Technologists have an amazing set of tools to create real-world solutions, and people everywhere are curious about AI's possibilities. Yvonne's encouragement: lean in. Offer your skills to your church or to any gospel-centered mission in your sphere of influence, and be the person willing to answer questions and help others understand what's possible.

Watch Yvonne's talk from Missional AI London

Yvonne also spoke on the main stage at Missional AI London 2025. You can watch her talk in the Missional AI Video Library under London 2025, or in the London 2025 playlist on YouTube.

Listen and join the conversation

Listen to the full episode with Yvonne Carlson on the Missional AI Podcast, and subscribe so you don't miss future conversations.

The Missional AI 2026 Global Summit takes place April 7–9, 2026, in Silicon Valley, the largest gathering of Christians working at the intersection of faith and AI. We expect more than 800 people. Early-bird pricing runs until March 10; get your ticket at missional.ai.

This episode was made possible in partnership with Gloo, the technology platform connecting the faith ecosystem.