Artificial intelligence is already in your church. Staff members are using ChatGPT to draft newsletters, generate sermon illustrations, and answer operational questions. Youth pastors are experimenting with AI chatbots. Volunteers are creating graphics with AI image generators for Sunday morning slides.
None of that is inherently wrong. AI can genuinely help ministry teams work more efficiently. But most churches are using these tools without any guardrails, and that's where the trouble starts.
In this article, we'll walk through five specific risks that AI creates for churches, from data privacy and copyright to the less obvious spiritual implications. For each one, we'll share what's actually happening, why it matters, and practical steps your team can take today.
1. Your Confidential Data May Not Be Confidential Anymore
When staff paste sensitive information into public AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude, that data may be stored on external servers. That data can then be used to train future models, or could be exposed in a data breach.
But here's the specific risk many church leaders miss: once you've told an AI about someone's sensitive situation, the AI could essentially repeat that information, like gossip, when answering another user's similar question.
Many AI tools use conversations to improve their models. If you input "John Smith is struggling with alcoholism and his marriage is falling apart," that data gets learned. Later, when someone asks the AI for examples of how substance abuse affects marriages, it might generate a response including details strikingly similar to John's situation. Now imagine a pastor uploading member prayer requests—names, health conditions, family crises—into an AI to draft a follow-up email. Those details could be echoed back to other users of the same platform.
A breach of pastoral confidentiality damages trust and can expose the church to lawsuits. Many AI tools' terms of service grant them broad rights to user-submitted content, potentially violating your own privacy policies.
The fix: establish a clear policy that no member names, personal details, financial information, or pastoral care notes go into public AI tools. For sensitive work, use enterprise-grade tools with data protection agreements (Microsoft 365 Copilot, Google Workspace AI with BAAs). Train staff to recognize what counts as confidential—it's more than most people think.
Never paste counseling notes, prayer requests, or personal member information into ChatGPT or similar public AI tools.
2. AI-Generated Content Can Create Copyright Problems
AI-generated content can unknowingly reproduce copyrighted material. The U.S. Copyright Office has clarified that purely AI-generated works aren't copyrightable, but if AI reproduces copyrighted training data, you could be liable. Three risk areas:
Worship music. CCLI rigorously enforces copyright. AI-generated songs that are derivatives of copyrighted worship music expose you to liability.
Sermon content. AI can reproduce passages from books, commentaries, and sermons nearly verbatim—unattributed plagiarism.
Graphics and images. AI image generators can produce outputs mimicking copyrighted artwork or photographs.
Treat all AI-generated content as a first draft requiring human review. Verify quotes, check sources, cite appropriately. Never publish AI-generated worship music without legal review.
CCLI has not yet issued specific guidance on AI-generated worship music as of publication. This is uncharted territory. Proceed with extreme caution.
3. AI Gets Legal Questions Wrong (Confidently)
Staff members are increasingly turning to AI for legal, compliance, and safety guidance. The problem: AI is notorious for "hallucinating"—generating plausible-sounding but entirely false information.
Here's why this matters: In Mata v. Avianca, Inc. (2023), attorneys submitted legal briefs to federal court containing case citations that ChatGPT had completely fabricated. The AI invented fake cases with plausible-sounding names. The attorneys never verified them. They were sanctioned by the court.
Now imagine your church administrator asking AI about California employment law: "Can we classify our part-time worship leader as an independent contractor?" The AI gives a confident answer that misses critical details about California's ABC test for worker classification. You follow the advice. Two years later, the California Labor Commissioner determines that person was actually an employee. Your church now owes back wages, overtime, meal and rest break penalties, unemployment insurance, workers' comp premiums, and penalties—potentially tens of thousands of dollars. Plus legal fees to defend the claim.
The Mata attorneys were professionals who should have known better. They trusted AI anyway. Church staff—who aren't lawyers—are even more vulnerable to accepting AI's confident-sounding but dangerously wrong legal advice.
For mandated reporting, child safety, employment law, or tax matters, consult your attorney, HR consultant, or insurance agent—not ChatGPT. If you use AI to draft policies, have them reviewed by someone with actual expertise.
This article provides educational information, not legal advice. Consult qualified legal counsel for questions about compliance, employment law, mandated reporting, or other legal matters affecting your ministry.
4. Fabricated Facts Damage Your Credibility
AI frequently fabricates everyday facts: inventing Bible verses, attributing fake quotes, citing nonexistent sources. Because AI sounds authoritative, these fabrications are easy to miss—but they damage your church's credibility:
An AI writes a sermon illustration citing "Proverbs 31:8" but the actual verse says something entirely different from what's presented
A church newsletter attributes a quote to a well-known pastor who never said it
Social media graphics include statistics from sources that don't exist
The solution: verify every Bible reference, quote, statistic, or citation in AI-generated content before publishing. Use AI as a brainstorming tool or first-draft generator, not as a research assistant. Assign a human editor to review all AI outputs for accuracy.
5. When AI Replaces Fellowship, Everyone Loses
The risk that doesn't show up on a liability report but may be most consequential: AI chatbots replacing genuine prayer, pastoral care, and human fellowship. The data is striking:
64% of teens use AI chatbots, with 30% using them daily (Pew Research, 2025)
72% of teens have used AI companions; 1 in 3 find AI conversations as satisfying as real friends (Common Sense Media, 2025)
73% of Americans say AI should play no role in faith advising (Pew Research, 2025)
50% of Americans believe AI will worsen our ability to form meaningful relationships
Young people are asking spiritual questions to chatbots instead of pastors. While AI can provide information, it cannot provide presence.
This isn't about banning technology—it's about positioning the church as a community of authentic human connection. Acknowledge AI's benefits (efficiency, accessibility) while naming its limitations (no presence, no empathy, no Holy Spirit). Teach that loneliness and spiritual questions require human and divine connection. Resist the temptation to automate pastoral care.
Several denominations have developed frameworks for engaging AI. The "Artificial Intelligence: An Evangelical Statement of Principles" emphasizes that humans cannot cede moral accountability to AI. The Southern Baptist Convention's 2023 resolution encourages engagement "from a place of eschatological hope rather than uncritical embrace or fearful rejection."
What Your Church Should Do Now
You don't need a 50-page AI policy. Start with these practical guardrails:
Establish a clear policy: no member names, counseling notes, financial information, or personal details in public AI tools
Designate someone to fact-check all AI-generated content before publication
Create a "never ask AI" list: mandated reporting, employment law, child safety, tax-exempt status
Teach staff the difference between enterprise AI tools (with data protections) and public AI tools:
Develop a written AI use policy covering approved tools, prohibited content, review processes
Make pastoral care policy explicit: will you use AI for prayer request triage or counseling responses?
Integrate AI ethics into youth teaching: address AI companionship and the limits of algorithmic spirituality
To get started, download our Model Use of AI in Ministry to apply these best practices to your own operations.
ChurchWest has been helping California ministries navigate operational risks for over 50 years. AI is just the latest frontier. If you'd like to discuss how AI-related risks intersect with your church's coverage, reach out to ChurchWest or ask Faith, our AI assistant, which is built with the kind of guardrails we're recommending here.
Final Thoughts
AI can help your church work more efficiently and serve more effectively. But like any tool, it requires wisdom. The goal isn't to be anti-technology—it's to use technology in ways that reinforce your church's mission, integrity, and spiritual health.
Establish clear guardrails now. Train your staff. Fact-check everything. And remember: no algorithm can replace the presence of God or the fellowship of His people.
This article provides educational information about AI risks in ministry operations. It is not legal advice. Consult qualified legal counsel, HR professionals, or insurance agents for specific guidance on compliance, employment law, data privacy, or other legal matters affecting your church.
Conclusion
This post was created by the team at ChurchWest to help ministry leaders navigate complex decisions with clarity and care. If you want to explore more resources or talk with our specialists, we are here to help.