Digital Discipleship and AI

Rachel Gilmore

I think the next five years are going to be pivotal for the church.

Not because AI is going to suddenly replace pastors or because robots are taking over worship services, but because we are entering a moment where people are genuinely trying to figure out where truth, trust, wisdom, and belonging come from.

And increasingly, many people are turning to AI to answer those questions. When I interact with Gen Z and Gen Alpha students, I notice two reactions happening simultaneously.

Some are already using AI for everything. They ask it questions about relationships, identity, morality, theology, vocation, politics, mental health, spirituality, and what they should cook for dinner. AI is becoming a kind of formation engine for them. Not because they are lazy or naive, but because it is immediate, personalized, nonjudgmental, and always available.

At the exact same time, I also meet young people who are deeply suspicious of AI-generated spirituality. I had one student tell me, “If I go to a church and I find out the prayers were written by ChatGPT, I’m never coming back.”

That tension is fascinating to me.

Young people are not simply asking whether AI is useful. They are asking what is authentic. What is embodied. What is human. And honestly, I think those are deeply theological questions.

I am not anti-AI. I think AI can become an incredibly useful tool for ministry. It can help generate ideas, organize information, create visual assets, summarize resources, build systems, increase accessibility, and connect people with meaningful content they might not otherwise discover.

I even think AI can help churches become more creative. But I do not think AI can become our discipleship pathway. That is where I start getting nervous. Because discipleship is not simply information delivery. It is relationship. It is practice. It is accountability. It is discernment. It is becoming.

And becoming always happens in community.

One of the dangers of AI is that it can slowly train us to believe we no longer need one another for wisdom. Why wrestle with a difficult conversation when an algorithm can give me an answer instantly? Why sit in ambiguity, grief, or uncertainty when I can generate clarity on demand?

But spiritual maturity has never worked that way. Some of the most transformative moments in my own life have come through wrestling, disagreement, confusion, slowness, and relationships that forced me to grow beyond my own assumptions.

AI can simulate conversation incredibly well. But simulation is not the same thing as covenant. And I think younger generations can feel that difference intuitively. That is why I think the church has a really important opportunity right now, not to reject technology, but to model a healthier relationship with it.

We can use AI without surrendering our humanity to it.

We can let AI support creativity without outsourcing discernment.
We can use AI-generated images without replacing pastoral presence.
We can use technology to connect people while still teaching the importance of embodiment, accountability, and community.

I think that distinction matters deeply moving forward. Because Christianity is fundamentally incarnational. God did not send humanity a document, algorithm, or language model. God became present.

That does not mean digital ministry is somehow less real. I spend large portions of my life building relationships, teaching, organizing, and learning online. Digital spaces absolutely matter. People encounter belonging, transformation, support, and healing there all the time.

But even digitally, we are still embodied people. When I show up on Zoom, I am still bringing my exhaustion, grief, joy, stress, humor, history, and full humanity into that interaction. The other people on the screen are too.

We cannot lose that. I think the danger is not AI itself. The danger is becoming so accustomed to frictionless convenience that we forget formation usually requires patience, vulnerability, accountability, and real human presence. Churches do not need to compete with AI on efficiency. We will lose that battle immediately.

But the church has always offered something different.

Presence.
Community.
Embodiment.
Discernment.
Shared ritual.
Care.
Meaning.
A place to wrestle with what it means to become more fully human together. Ironically, I think those things may become even more valuable in an AI-shaped world. The future of digital discipleship is not deciding whether technology is good or bad. It is learning how to remain deeply human and committed to Jesus while using these tools wisely, creatively, and faithfully.