Artificial Intelligence in Evangelism and Faith
In our rapidly evolving world, artificial intelligence is working its way into every area of our lives. Need Him Global is carefully navigating the intersection of technology and faith. We specifically are monitoring the growing impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on evangelism and spiritual connection.
While AI offers remarkable advancements across various sectors, including promising developments in medical research and computer coding, we’ve witnessed concerning trends in other areas. Some AI platforms have faced serious concerns, including lawsuits over harmful content and recommendations for users to hurt themselves or others.
We have even seen some faith-based organizations deploy chatbots designed to generate “salvations” without genuine human connection. Cornering digital visitors into making decisions does not lead to true transformation and often leaves people more confused about faith.
At Need Him Global, we are a ministry of presence. In a world increasingly dominated by transactional digital interactions, we offer the authentic human connection that so many desperately seek. We recently formalized this commitment by establishing our first Ministry AI Policy. This policy now stands with our Statement of Faith and Code of Conduct as something all staff, board members and responders must affirm annually before they are able to serve.
The policy creates firm boundaries. Most importantly, we will never use AI to replace live conversations with those seeking hope, purpose, and faith. When we do utilize AI, all information must be biblically verified and the response must be personalized. Evangelism may start with answering hard questions, but we never want to simply cut and paste responses without checking those and customizing them to the heart of the person asking them.
Some have asked why we insist on maintaining this human element. We believe that conversation automation, without human involvement, ignores the essential power of the Holy Spirit in ministry. As Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Powers noted, “The best arguments in the world won’t change a single person’s mind. The only thing that can do that is a good story.” As followers of Christ, we’ve been entrusted with the ultimate story in the Good News of Jesus.
This doesn’t mean we’re anti-technology. We’re already leveraging AI to review conversations and ensure policy compliance, improve media performance, enhance responder effectiveness, transform training materials, and develop conversation simulations for training new responders.
However, we remain steadfast in our conviction that while the methods of ministry evolve, our mission remains unchanged. In an increasingly automated world, Need Him Global stands as a beacon of authentic connection where people can talk to a believer about knowing, loving, and trusting Jesus.
