Should Sunday School Teachers Use AI?
Share
While many Sunday School teachers resist the use of artificial intelligence to support the development of curriculum, other ministry leaders say that it is the way forward. Resisting the internet only lasted so long, and the same will go for using AI to create materials for Sunday School or enhance students’ biblical literacy.
Is it ethical to use AI to this end? If so, to what extent? How much should Sunday School teachers use AI in the classroom if at all. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons.
How AI Is Used in Children’s Ministry
First, it is helpful to understand how wise Christian program writers employ AI, which is not to take the place of the Bible as the most important tool in a child’s learning. Artificial intelligence uses what the teacher provides and improves upon it. Real people with a sound knowledge of Scripture must input information. They do the research which AI processes. Just as when they use the internet to glean ideas for games and lesson plans, AI does not do the teaching but only helps the teacher.
Examples include altering the language and style of content to better serve a particular age group or to improve the flow. Neil MacQueen explains that “we used ChatGPT, a favorite ‘AI’ app, to solve some problems, create and format some special content and graphics, improve reading level and readability in certain lessons, and proofread some content.” AI does not provide content in this context.
Controversy over Artificial Intelligence
Controversy arises when someone uses an internet service of this kind to produce an article, and then that person either passes it off as their original work or shares it without checking for accuracy. This is true in any context, whether a doctoral candidate is writing his dissertation or a high school student is completing an essay for history class.
Moreover, even if a student turns to AI as a research assistant only, these platforms are not always reliable. Dr. Lawson Murray asserts that, without question, our children are interacting with AI already, but “AI’s assistance isn’t Solomon’s wisdom. Large Language Models (LLMs), like ChatGPT, provide conventional crowdsourced answers. In other words, it usually tells us what we want to hear. The mediocrity of AI’s answers can dumb down matters of faith.”
“What we want to hear” is not the equivalent of truth. “Furthermore, it’s not theologically precise. LLM’s are explicitly designed to create plausible answers, not theologically specific or accurate ones.” And as Christians know, there are many examples of the miraculous in Scripture; things which are not possible outside of God’s will.
For example, there are instances in the Bible where a donkey speaks (Numbers 22), an ax head floats (2 Kings 6), and a man is resurrected from the dead (John 11, Mark 16). What would AI do with these facts when it is programmed to deny the miraculous? The event itself would lose its depth of meaning when conveyed by AI.
So, when a child wants to know “what has God said about gender identity,” AI’s response is not limited to only the most Scripturally accurate teaching but will find either the majority response or present a range of opinions. Even when proponents of a particular standpoint are Christians, their views do not necessarily agree with God’s teaching.
This can lead to some confusion. Since AI will draw from the enormous volume of information already existing on the internet, one will see what the culture has to say about such things rather than what God has said already. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8). Such is not true of the internet, where “information” evolves according to what we add to it every single day, whether backed by fact or merely opinion.
To this end, Murray suggests that Sunday School teachers become knowledgeable about the resources that are out there, both as teaching tools and as learning platforms for their students. Rather than try to stop students from using AI, guide them towards programs which will support their spiritual growth without replacing human interaction and Sunday School classes with human teachers. Let them use technology, but encourage them to discuss what they find on these platforms with trusted adult mentors and fellow students.
Vet what they are using and monitor what they see. Encourage them to express what they think they know (and what AI is telling them), and then if the answers online are not correct, indicate to them why they are wrong. Be prepared to back a position with knowledge, not simply “because I said so.” We emulate Christ when we invite children to “come and reason with me” (Isaiah 1:18).
Benefits of AI in Sunday School Curriculum
Lawson indicates that we would be naïve to leave AI out of the picture when it comes to teaching the Bible to our children. They are already far too accustomed to and comfortable with using computers, whether PCs or their phones. He suggests “the issue isn’t whether churches should use AI for children’s faith formation; it’s determining how to use it well.”
If anything, the growth of AI in the area of Sunday School ministry could be an impetus for parents and teachers to double-down on their own Scripture reading and study. After all, if children learn something from AI that appears truthful because society confirms it, a spiritually accurate refutation of that supposed “truth” had better be based on rock-solid gospel evidence.
Given that some students will do a lot of their learning from home if they live in rural communities and use online Sunday School teaching as a way to connect with Scripture when they cannot get to church, there has to be some level of interaction. These tools “allow children to continue praying, studying the word of God, and deepening their connection with Christ wherever possible.”
Curriculum can be designed to address and mitigate the isolation of a student in this kind of situation by involving artificial interaction. Customization features also enable program developers to make lessons more inclusive of students with disabilities, immigrants, and youngsters who are neurologically diverse.
Suggestions For AI-Supported Sunday School Ministry
Dr. Lawson supplies a summary of ways one can us AI to benefit children’s ministry without compromising truth. For one thing, spend some time “curating what’s helpful or harmful” – that is, explore the different options, many of which could be more impressive than you think.
“Numerous AI-powered tools are designed to enhance children’s safety. These include content filters, monitoring applications, and parental control software.” There are even programs which “simulate scenarios that challenge children to make decisions guided by spiritual discernment.” In other words, AI can be used to nurture critical thinking skills. This way, instead of saying “no,” in the hope that teachers or families will ignore AI, pastors can guide teachers (and teachers can guide families) towards Sunday School resources they can get behind.
Look for tools which “encourage sacred reflection through the asking of profound questions” and nurture the imagination. Not only can these technological tools teach facts, they also encourage engagement. For example, certain websites promote custom-designed Sunday School game development, which a teacher can create to teach a series of lessons. Children play the games to learn Scripture and its meaning. They also have access to songs and videos.
People of all ages learn in a variety of ways, and these are just some of the tools which help students to thrive in their studies when reading alone is not as effective. “If, for instance, an auditory interpersonal learner is only exposed to God’s Word through a methodology suited to reading and writing learners, it will hinder their faith formation.” The teacher’s words simply do not sink in; God’s Word does not come alive. AI “facilitates multiple learning styles and abilities by personalizing content to fit how children take in, process, and store information.”
Finally, we want children to want to study the Word of God. Hand a twelve-year-old a Bible and he is likely to read only as an act of duty, perhaps with considerable resistance. Give the same child a tablet and ask him to play a game, and he will more readily comply. “Technology and social media use can increase a child’s motivation to study God’s Word and develop a robust faith in new and transformative ways.”
AI must not become our children’s babysitter, but we want them to learn the truth of Scripture. We have to face the fact that they will be on the internet using AI whether we like it or not – at least we can steer them in the right direction. Interpersonal exploration of gospel truth will always be more important than AI, but this technology “can provide age-appropriate links to Christian podcasts, entertainers, resources and ministry opportunities that incentivize faith formation.”
An Uneasy Truce
Many parents and Sunday School teachers can remember a time when the internet was new and scary. While the true scope of its evil applications has become apparent, the internet itself is morally neutral. The issue is how do we use it and how to do we protect children?
This could be where Sunday School teachers land in the debate over AI. Can it be used safely with proper instruction and guidance? Can faith leaders utilize this technology in order to help children grow in faith and to protect them from the dangers of false teaching? There is no reason for a Sunday School teacher to implement AI if his or her lesson plans are going smoothly and this teacher enjoys lively engagement with students using the methods that have always worked.
There are still fears around a new technology which purports to replace people, but AI can never take the place of people when a student’s mind turns to faith-related questions; the big, supernatural issues which children (and adults) sometimes wonder about. Lawson argues: “Technology doesn’t have a soul. Faith formation is facilitated mainly through human interaction empowered by the Holy Spirit. It requires the touch of parents, pastors, teachers, and others, as well as the supernatural touch of God — something AI can never replicate.”
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Drazen Zigic
