Episode Summary Your church needs an AI policy, and it can fit on one or two pages. In this episode, Kenny Jahng walks through the 10 sections every workable church AI policy should include. He covers approved and prohibited uses, how to protect data from minors and counseling notes, when to disclose AI use, and how to keep the policy current as the tools change. The goal is plain-language guidance your staff, volunteers, and leadership can read and use this week. Key Topics Discussed Section 1: Purpose Explain in two or three sentences why your church has a policy at all. Cover your theological approach and the practical reasons, including data protection and privacy. Section 2: Scope Name who the policy covers: pastors, staff, volunteers. List the tools, tasks, and roles it applies to, plus any departments or activities that are off-limits. Section 3: Approved Uses This is your green light list. Tell your team where they're free to experiment. Kenny's example is taking a sermon transcript after the message has been preached and repurposing it into summaries, new formats, and different lengths. Section 4: Prohibited Uses This is your red light list. Draw a hard line on where AI never goes. Examples include final theological statements, personally identifiable information, and any financial data tied to a name or record. Section 5: Data Privacy Spell out what information stays out of public AI tools and why. Kids ministry data and private counseling notes top the list. Clear guardrails give your team more freedom to work. Section 6: Transparency Decide when and how you disclose that AI helped. Kenny compares routine AI help to using a concordance or commentary in sermon prep. The standard is simple: no one should feel misled when they find out AI was involved. Section 7: Accountability Name who owns the policy, who approves tools, how approval works, and who answers questions when something comes up. Section 8: Training Define how staff and volunteers learn to use AI well and safely, whether through conferences, courses, lunch and learns, or communities. This usually connects to a budget line for AI training and leadership development. Section 9: Review Cadence AI tools change monthly, sometimes weekly. Set how often you'll revisit the policy so it gets updated and doesn't sit on a shelf for years. Section 10: Adoption Plan how the policy reaches each group: elders, executive team, pastors, staff, and volunteers. Wide access helps everyone feel included in this workplace shift. Notable Quotes "A policy that nobody reads protects nobody." "Trust is the currency that we all ride on in the church and ministry space, and once you violate trust, you lose everything." "You cannot assume that you're going to write your AI Policy once and put it on the bookshelf for years ahead." "You are the one that's supposed to bring clarity to everything." "Version one is better than version none." Resources & Recommendations AI Policies Made Simple (aipoliciesmadesimple.com) AI for Church Leaders Facebook Group More than 8,000 church leaders trading notes on how AI fits their own context. Staff Training Courses ChatGPTforChurches.com, RepurposeYourSermon.com, and the All-Access Membership at AIforChurchLeaders.com. The AI Collective A private community of leaders who meet online live every month, with a private discussion forum. Share Your Policy If your team writes a policy, Kenny wants to see it. Email kenny@churchtechtoday.com or post it in the AI for Church Leaders & Pastors Facebook group. For more episodes and resources, visit ChurchTechToday.com.
