As AI attracts some more profile on social media through trending avatar designs, Matt Hogg gets one of the open AI tools to write an article on the Church and Social Media. The results were fascinating.

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There has been a lot of hype around AI this week on social media with people generating avatars through apps like Lensa. It has been fun to see something of how AI has been developing in the background.

Others have been using ChatGPT on OpenAI to ask questions and get it to complete tasks like policy writing, or drafting tweets, or even in one case I saw this week, writing a sermon.

I thought I would ask ChatGPT to write me an article about how the church can use social media. These 345 words (because I set a limit) are what it came up with 👇👇

Social media has become an integral part of our lives, and the church is no exception. Churches are increasingly turning to social media to reach out to their members and the wider community. Social media can be used to spread the gospel, share stories of faith, and connect with people who may not otherwise be exposed to the church.

It can also be used to promote events, share prayer requests, and provide spiritual guidance. The church can use social media to engage with its members and the wider community. This can be done by creating a church page on popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. This page can be used to post updates, share stories, and engage with followers.

The church can also use social media to reach out to those who may not be familiar with the church. This can be done by creating content that is relevant to the target audience and sharing it on social media. This content can include videos, articles, and other forms of media that can be shared with the wider community.

Social media can also be used to promote events and activities that the church is hosting. This can be done by creating an event page on social media and inviting people to attend. This can be a great way to reach out to those who may not be familiar with the church and encourage them to attend.

Finally, social media can be used to provide spiritual guidance and support. This can be done by creating a page dedicated to prayer requests and providing spiritual advice. This can be a great way to connect with members of the church and provide them with the support they need.

In conclusion, social media can be a powerful tool for the church to reach out to its members and the wider community. It can be used to spread the gospel, share stories of faith, and provide spiritual guidance. By utilizing social media, the church can engage with its members and the wider community in a meaningful way.

The article itself is a bit repetitive and two dimensional, but it’s actually pretty impressive for what it is, and while I was here, I thought it would be good to pull out a few things from the article to make some wider points about Church and social media use too:

1.Social Media facilitates connection

This is what it said: ‘Churches are increasingly turning to social media to reach out to their members and the wider community’. This was certainly our experience when I led a church in London. We transitioned from seeing social media as a noticeboard to a tool that would help us connect with our church and local community.

2.Social Media enables creative evangelism

In the article, Chat GPT says, ‘Social media can be used to spread the gospel’. So strange to hear it say that in an AI voice in my imagination. This is what we have been seeing on TikTok for example, many Christian content creators are using their channels to creatively communicate the good news of Jesus. Some of these videos are racking up hundreds of thousands of views.

Which brings me to the second part of the sentence, because it says that social media enables the church to ‘connect with people who may not otherwise be exposed to the church.’ Think of all those people on social platforms right now who may not have any connection with Christianity, until they come across a video from a content creator who is simply trying to communicate the love of God in Jesus.

3.Social Media can be targeted

I thought this quote here is a good reminder of the power of social media as a tool to connect with people, ‘The church can also use social media to reach out to those who may not be familiar with the church. This can be done by creating content that is relevant to the target audience and sharing it on social media’.

Why not experiment with some ad spend in your next campaign and target a specific group of people. Maybe all those who live in a geographical area up to a certain distance from your church building, or a certain age or demographic or person. These tools are available to help the church connect people with Jesus.

4.Social Media can facilitate transformation

The AI comments that through social media the church can ‘provide spiritual guidance and support. This can be done by creating a page dedicated to prayer requests and providing spiritual advice.’.

Very interesting suggestions here. I wonder if you have thought about having a prayer request page at your church, or showing up on a live broadcast to unpack some of the sermon that people will have heard at the weekly service, or offering prayer for those who comment in the chat.

Some interesting ideas from our AI article writer, but perhaps more interesting is that fact that this tool exists and is accessible to all. We enjoyed a session at Stronger Conference earlier on this year from Chris Lomas ‘what you need to know about AI’. You can watch it here.

What about you. How might you use a tool like this?