People sometimes ask what artificial intelligence can actually do for a ministry. I have been finding out by putting ChatGPT to work on the things that fill my days as a missionary to cyberspace. Using ChatGPT for ministry has become much more practical than simply asking a question and reading an answer.
There are websites to maintain, messages to answer, devotionals to prepare, pictures to work on, and technical problems to solve. Here are some of the ways I have been using it to help get that work done.
It starts with a conversation
Many jobs begin in an ordinary chat. I describe a problem, paste a message, or share a screenshot. ChatGPT helps me sort through the information, understand what I am looking at, and decide on the next step.
That has included explaining technical notices, checking claims, improving wording, and helping me think through decisions. I can ask follow-up questions or correct something that does not fit. Sometimes the most useful result is a clearer understanding of the problem before I change anything.
A real example: the Lighthouse Devotional
Today I gave it a practical test on Baptist.org. I asked it to clean up a devotional post, change the category to Lighthouse Devotions, add appropriate tags, and fill in the Yoast search engine information. I also asked it to remove the unsubscribe link and use the Lighthouse image from the media gallery as the featured image.
With the browser connection enabled, it worked in the WordPress tab I directed it to use. I told it to stop before publishing so I could review the result. After that, I gave the instruction to publish.
That is a useful difference from receiving a list of instructions and then doing every click myself. For this job, it helped carry out the editing and preparation inside the website, while I retained the final publishing decision.
Helping work a trouble ticket
Another recent test involved a ministry support ticket. I asked ChatGPT to examine the ticket and involve me in troubleshooting as needed. We then used an open server terminal, with me directing and approving the steps along the way.
At the end, I asked it to prepare the closing comments and show them to me first. After I approved the comments, it closed the ticket. I also asked it to return to my open ticket list when finished.
Technical support includes more than finding a possible fix. It also means reading carefully, checking results, explaining what happened, and leaving a useful record. Having help with those details makes the whole process easier to manage.
Writing, translation, and Gospel outreach
I have also used ChatGPT to help write friendly support replies, improve ministry posts, and prepare messages for people who contact us online. It helps me say what I mean more clearly without making every reply sound like a formal business letter.
Our God’s Bridge Gospel tract outreach reaches people in several languages. ChatGPT has helped translate incoming messages and prepare replies in English and the other person’s language. It has also helped with advertising wording and understanding outreach reports. Translation still needs care, especially when a message involves the Gospel or an unfamiliar expression.
For Bible material, I give it clear instructions about using the King James Bible and staying within our doctrinal convictions. I remain responsible for checking Scripture quotations, meaning, and the finished message.
Pictures, websites, and the daily workload
Some help is visual. Recent projects have included extracting text from church graphics, separating pictures from a missions conference announcement, and improving images that did not look good when enlarged. I have also used it to create illustrations and help prepare ministry graphics.
Behind the scenes, it has helped me work through WordPress settings, website layouts, search engine optimization, PHP questions, and server troubleshooting. Sometimes it explains a screen. Sometimes it gives me one command to run and waits for the results. When appropriate and authorized, it can also help directly in a connected browser tab.
Even the ordinary task list benefits. It helps me keep track of daily ministry responsibilities, recurring maintenance, website updates, and unfinished jobs. There is value in having somewhere to organize the work instead of trying to remember every detail.
Using ChatGPT for ministry with personal oversight
This has not been a matter of turning everything over to a machine. I set the assignment, provide the context, ask questions, and check the results. When something is wrong, I correct it. When I want to approve a reply or a post before it goes out, I make that part of the instructions.
AI can make mistakes, and a confident answer still needs checking. My responsibility as a preacher and missionary remains mine. The benefit is having practical help with the writing, editing, organizing, and technical work that supports the ministry.
Maureen and I serve as Missionaries to Cyberspace. The tools have changed considerably since my early computer ministry days, but our purpose remains the same: helping churches and missionaries and using the opportunities available to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Even this article is another example. I asked ChatGPT to prepare the post here on Cyber-Missions, choose an image, add tags, and complete the Yoast details. Then I asked it to stop so I could approve it before publishing.
