A new study has found that pastors who use artificial intelligence (AI) are concerned about the technology’s effect on ministry, including the potential displacement of pastoral guidance and the erosion of congregants’ trust.

The report, Technology for Missional Impact: State of Church Tech 2026, produced by Barna in partnership with Pushpay, found that around 60% of church leaders use AI personally at least a few times a month, while only 24% said they never use it.

“When church leaders do adopt AI, they primarily use it as a tool to support creativity and efficiency. The most common use cases involve generating or editing written materials, graphics, emails, social media posts, and, in some cases, sermons,” the report says. “This aligns with church leaders’ general approach to technology as a communication aid.”

The study follows last year’s 2025 State of AI in the Church Survey Report, which found that a majority of pastors were already using AI tools such as ChatGPT and Grammarly to prepare sermons.

However, the Barna-Pushpay report highlights a number of pastoral concerns. About 51% of church leaders said they were “very concerned” about plagiarism and “compromised message integrity,” with a further 30% “somewhat concerned.” Nearly half (49%) said they worried about losing the authenticity of their preaching, and 83% expressed concern over data privacy.

Despite this, most pastors reported their churches had yet to adopt AI. Some 58% said their church was not using the technology, 33% said it was in use in some capacity, and 8% were unsure.

Church leaders also voiced anxiety about the wider spiritual impact of AI. While few feared being replaced entirely, 65% worried the technology could displace their spiritual guidance, and 70% said it could reduce congregants’ trust in them.

“Clear guidance could help address these tensions. Most church leaders believe it is important for churches to establish policies governing AI use (24% extremely, 40% somewhat),” the report noted. “Yet few churches have taken this step. Only 5% of church leaders say their church currently has an established AI policy — revealing a significant gap between leaders’ sense of responsibility and their organizational readiness.”

The study also found positive effects. Some 79% of pastors said technology has helped improve connections among congregants, and 61% said it has helped deepen their faith. “When it comes to fostering congregants’ connections to God and to each other, church leaders regard digital tools as supplemental, not essential,” the researchers said. “Even so, as noted earlier, the operational benefits are clear: 78% say technology has made ministry life at least somewhat easier.”