Navigating AI in the Church – A message from the CEO of Sermon Shots
Recently when I talk to folks in the Church communications sphere, the hottest topic is Artificial Intelligence (AI) and naturally, the role of AI in the Church.
The reactions range from wary, fearing the use of it might overshadow the human touch, while others have dived right in, investigating the capabilities AI brings. Your church is unique, with a voice and a message meant to reach a specific community. And you know what? That’s how it should be.
Here at Sermon Shots, our vision is focused: AI is a tool, but not a replacement. We see the potential it holds in making tasks quicker, streamlining processes, and helping you produce content vital to spreading the gospel in the digital space. But AI will never replace divine inspiration, your creativity, or those priceless personal connections ministry forms.
This is why, for example, we’re introducing features like ‘AI Suggested Clips’. While this feature will help you create clips more efficiently, we’re leaving room for you to adjust designs and add or remove sections (and as always, you maintain the ability to select your clip content from start to finish). You know your community better than any machine ever will!
Keeping up with the pace of AI is no joke. It’s crucial we exercise grace and understanding. We’re all testing the waters, figuring out what fits best for our individual church. Personally, my thoughts on AI have evolved as we investigate how best to bring these capabilities to you within Sermon Shots.
Further, I’m thrilled to share that Sermon Shots has partnered with Gloo. Their vision on AI aligns beautifully with ours, especially about ensuring technology complements, not replaces, human connections.
If you’re curious about diving deeper into the topic AI in Church, I can suggest the following articles:
- New Gloo Survey Reveals What Ministry Leaders Think About AI & The Church
- ChurchTechToday’s piece – Common objections to AI in Church and Kenny Jahng’s fantastic responses.
- Carey Nieuwhof’s Ultimate Guide – A comprehensive discussion about AI in Churches.
AI Features Coming To Sermon Shots
And before I sign off, a little teaser for you! We’re on the brink of launching two incredible AI features – ‘AI Suggested Clips’ and ‘AI Camera Crew’.
AI Suggested Clips
We have been beta testing with around 200 Churches and the results have been amazing. We are tweaking a few things based on their feedback and then it will be ready for all users.
Here is just one quote from a beta tester:
I have to admit, it blew me away! I added a sermon and it pulls some powerful content and as a bonus it puts a title to it! Keep doing what you’re doing, I love it!
AI Camera Crew
We just reviewed the initial internal release of this feature and I was blown away. The video looked just like the Church had a camera crew following the pastor around to keep him in the center of the video.
Thank you for being a part of this journey. Let’s continue to explore, innovate, and always keep Jesus at the center of it all.
