Artificial Intelligence is everywhere, and like it or not, everyone is using it. That means those inside and outside of your ministry are probably already using AI. Whether that is good or bad is ultimately a leadership decision every ministry is going to have to make. While the legal system is struggling to keep up, it would be wise for churches and ministries to address the appropriate use of AI and at minimum understand who owns the information being put into and generated out of these language models. Every church needs an AI policy.
Our goal is not to tell you if you should or should not use AI, but to provide a template that helps leaders, lead. The use of AI is a leadership decision and not one that should be made by the tech team.
AI Policy for Churches and Ministries
Here is a template that we built to help guide leadership through the decision-making process regarding an AI policy.
The template provides 2 options. Option 1 is a total ban of any use of AI. While this protects a ministry from misuse now, it will not stand the test of time. Churches and ministries should use technology as a tool to increase Kingdom impact. Even if you are not ready for AI now, at some point in the future, it will be built into everything making a total ban impractical.
Option 2 requires proper approval for using AI. It is essential to mention that those who can approve AI use need to have some knowledge of AI. Each language model has its own terms of service that make some models more or less suitable for ministries to use. There are also many free models, but the quality and ownership of the data and answers depend on whether you pay or not. A policy that requires approval for AI use offers adaptability as the AI field keeps changing quickly.
The terms of service for each AI site will further refine acceptability. For instance, OpenAI says you own the input and output, but Bard does not. Copilot limits paid users data from being used to train the models. Others do not. As these terms are constantly changing it is important that ministries understand acceptable use is not a one-time decision.
Any authorized use of AI must also respect your copyright and intellectual property policies. We have not added those here because those parts of your employee handbook should cover any medium, including AI.
We urge all ministries to consult with a qualified legal expert before using any employment documents that may have legal consequences.
