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By Movieguide® Staff
Most of America’s pastors have already made a quiet decision about artificial intelligence — they’re using it.
“Pastors are predominantly using AI for behind-the-scenes work — as a thought partner, a visual aid,” said Daniel Copeland, Barna’s Vice President of Research. “They’re using it to prepare for ministry, not to replace what happens when they’re actually with people.”
That’s from new research released Monday by Barna Group, in partnership with faith-technology platform Gloo, as part of the 2026 State of the Church initiative. Only 13% of US Protestant pastors say they don’t use AI at all — and the patterns of where the other 87% are taking it reveal something about how they understand their calling.
Pastors use AI most for brainstorming or idea generation (50%), followed by graphic design or visual creation (37%), biblical or theological research (36%), generating small group discussion questions (34%) and administrative tasks like scheduling, emails, and document preparation (34%). For smaller churches without dedicated communications staff, AI has quietly become the graphics department.
Sermon work is shifting too. In early 2024, just 12% of pastors said they were comfortable using AI to write sermons; today, 24% say they’re actually doing it. The emerging pattern, though, is AI as preparation partner — surfacing commentary, sketching an outline, exploring a theological angle — not as the voice behind the pulpit.
Related: How Will Churches Use AI? Pastors Weigh In
“The pattern of pastors using AI for preparation rather than people-facing ministry makes sense,” said Nick Skytland, Vice President of Gloo Developers and AI Research. “AI is helping them reclaim those hours so they can focus on ministering to people. It’s encouraging to see leaders adopting these tools while keeping a clear line between the technology and their calling.”
Adoption and comfort, though, aren’t the same thing. When asked about their emotional response to AI, 71% of pastors said “cautious” — far higher than practicing Christians, who check that box at just 36%. Pastors are also considerably less likely to feel excited (10%) than laypeople in the pews (32%).
The unease runs deeper than job anxiety. A full 79% of pastors worry about AI acting as a replacement for God, and 63% worry about AI replacing pastors or spiritual leaders entirely. These are theological concerns, not just technological ones — and they explain precisely why pastors are willing to let AI draft a newsletter but draw the line long before the sermon.
Movieguide® has tracked Barna’s investigation into AI’s impact on ministry since the organization first signaled its plans in 2023. This latest data — drawn from surveys of 1,514 U.S. adults and 442 Protestant pastors conducted in late 2025 — gives that earlier reporting a sharper edge. Pastors aren’t resistant to new tools; they’re being deliberate about which parts of the work those tools should never touch.
That’s not technophobia. It’s shepherding.
Read Next: What Do Christians REALLY Think About AI?
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