AI as a Force for Good: What Pat Gelsinger Taught Us in Milwaukee

7/17/2025

At Cru25, Pat Gelsinger called AI the “Gutenberg moment” of our time. Learn how Christian leaders can use LLMs to drive mission, education, and human flourishing—before it’s too late.

AI as a Force for Good: What Pat Gelsinger Taught Us in Milwaukee

It was Cru25 in Milwaukee, a rainy evening after dinner at a Thai restaurant. My colleagues and I ran to one of the most anticipated talks—“AI as a Force for Good” by Pat Gelsinger.

We found seats in Grand Ballroom C. You could feel the expectation in the room.

As the session picked up, Pat offered a quiet but sobering challenge:

“We missed the moment with social media. Will we miss it again with AI?”

The Challenge That Cut Deep

Pat Gelsinger—Executive Chair of Gloo, former Intel CEO, and someone who’s been in the room where technological history gets made—wasn’t giving us a theoretical lecture. He was issuing a wake-up call.

“AI is becoming the lingua franca of how young people communicate, interact with the world, and build relationships,” he said. “If you can’t speak that language, you’re already irrelevant to many of the people you’re called to reach.”

While we’ve been debating whether AI is “safe” for ministry, an entire generation has moved forward without us. Again.

“AI Doesn’t Know How Stupid You Are”

During the Q&A, someone asked what we all wondered: “I want to start using AI, but what if it leads me astray?”

Pat’s response was classic—practical, disarming, human:

“AI doesn’t know how stupid you are—it just keeps making you smarter.”

The room erupted in laughter. Then he got serious:

“Don’t replace prayer, Scripture, or community. AI should complement these, not substitute for them.”

His advice was direct: Try multiple models. Compare their answers. Don’t wait for permission—just start.

He compared it to reading a commentary or listening to a sermon—tools that give you access to centuries of Christian wisdom, now available in conversation format.

Three Ways to Engage AI Today

Pat outlined a framework that every ministry leader should understand:

Operationally
Use AI to improve your work—content creation, knowledge organization, problem-solving. Let the tool handle what it does best so you can focus on what only you can do.

Missionally
Deploy AI for evangelism, translation, digital outreach. AI can reach places we physically can’t and speak languages we haven’t learned.

Theologically
Access models trained on centuries of Christian writing and thought. Let these tools sharpen your faith and deepen your understanding.

“Luther Was the Most Important Person of the Last 1,000 Years”

The energy in the room shifted when Pat talked about Martin Luther. His voice carried new urgency.

“I would argue that Martin Luther was the most singularly important person in the last 1,000 years of history,” he said. Luther wasn’t just a reformer. He became the most important figure of the millennium because he used the printing press to scale truth—making the Bible accessible to ordinary people.

“This is our Gutenberg moment,” Pat declared. “The Church can shape AI’s development, or we can sit on the sidelines and watch others define its values.”

This wasn’t a history lesson. It was a commissioning.

Moonshots That Made Us Reimagine What’s Possible

Then Pat shared his personal vision, and the specificity was breathtaking:

Goal 1: Create “a $100 device that makes the final 40 years of life for every human better”—AI-powered hearing and vision tools that keep aging adults connected and engaged.

Goal 2: Tackle global education inequality. Right now, “300 million uneducated children live in poverty.” His vision? “AI-powered teachers increasing productivity 100x” so that “every child is taught in their own language.”

The scope? “We’ll be able to translate speech-to-text, speech-to-speech, text-to-text for all 7,000 known languages.”

I looked around the room. People were leaning forward, phones recording, taking notes furiously. This wasn’t about technology for technology’s sake. This was about using our tools to love our neighbors at a scale the world has never seen.

The Reality Check We Needed

Pat didn’t sugarcoat the challenges. He called out the hype:

“Things like sentience and superintelligence? It’s hogwash. We’re nowhere close.”

Today’s most powerful AI systems are “100,000 times less efficient than the human brain,” which runs on just 15 watts.

But he also didn’t minimize the risks. He warned that some models are “becoming children’s best friends online”—guiding them toward unhealthy emotional dependence. “I’m heading to Washington next week to meet with Secretary Sachs about AI regulation.”

His warning was sharp: “We wouldn’t release a drug with that kind of failure rate—why are we releasing AI that harms people?”

The Question That Changes Everything

When someone asked about preserving spiritual connection in the AI age, Pat’s response was brilliant:

“Walk into a campus ministry tomorrow and ask, ‘Which AI model are you using? How does it score on the flourishing benchmarks?’ That starts a conversation about values.”

This is exactly what Gloo’s Flourishing AI Benchmark measures—built on research from Harvard, Baylor, and Gallup. It evaluates whether AI tools promote purpose, character, relationships, and well-being.

Instead of asking whether AI is “good” or “bad,” we start asking: “Is this helping people flourish?”

Faith Has Always Led Innovation

Pat ended with a reminder that hit like a revelation:

“70% of Nobel laureates over the last century were followers of Christ. 90% were people of faith.”

Christianity didn’t just accommodate science—we launched hospitals, universities, and most forms of modern scientific discovery.

“We have a reasonable faith—grounded in science, truth, and innovation.”

So why are we afraid of AI?

Pat ended with a direct challenge: “Go forward. Become AI agents of the future.”

The session wasn’t just information about AI. It was a framework for faithful innovation and a call to step into our Gutenberg moment.

His opening challenge remains: “We missed the moment with social media. Will we miss it again with AI?”

The answer depends on what we do next.

What’s your next step with AI? I’d love to hear how this challenge is shaping your thinking. The conversation matters—and it’s just beginning.

Resources:

#AI #FaithAndTech #ChristianLeadership #DigitalMissions #PatGelsinger #Cru2025 #Innovation #MinistryStrategy

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NextSteps: Turn Digital Moments Into Eternal Impact

4/19/2025

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Create and share interactive gospel journeys with NextSteps. Use free templates, Jesus Film videos, and AI tools to scale digital outreach—fast and easy.

NextSteps: Turn Digital Moments Into Eternal Impact

In a world full of noise and endless scrolling, how do we help people connect with Jesus in a real and personal way?

NextSteps is a simple, powerful, and completely free platform from Jesus Film Project that equips you to create digital, interactive journeys that lead others closer to Christ.

Whether you’re inviting someone to church, offering prayer, sharing the gospel, or helping a new believer grow--NextSteps makes it personal, scalable, and beautifully simple.

What Is a NextSteps Journey?

A NextSteps Journey is a swipe-through, mobile-friendly experience made up of engaging “cards” that guide someone through a spiritual moment—whether that’s prayer, reflection, Scripture, or a gospel invitation.

Text and storytelling
Short videos
Bible verses
Personal questions
Prayer or reflection
A call to take the next step

Use It for Prayer, Evangelism, Discipleship, or Invitations

You can use NextSteps to build impactful journeys tailored to your ministry goals:

Prayer Journeys – Offer spiritual support and comfort
Evangelism Journeys – Share the gospel in a visual, engaging way
Discipleship Journeys – Help others grow in their walk with Jesus
Invitation Journeys – Invite people to church, events, or small groups

The Power of Templates

NextSteps includes ready-to-use templates for each journey type. These are based on real-life ministry examples and are fully customizable:

Change the wording to reflect your tone and voice
Add your own images, videos, or response questions
Launch your journey instantly with a unique link or QR code

NextSteps Scales With You

Whether you're sharing with one person or hundreds, NextSteps adapts to your ministry scale:

One-on-one: Connect personally via messaging apps like WhatsApp, Messenger, or SMS
One-to-many: Share your journey across platforms like social media, websites, or church events

This flexibility means every digital touchpoint can become a spiritual moment—and if someone is ready to respond, they can connect with you instantly.

Built-In Media That Speaks Every Language

NextSteps integrates with the Jesus Film Project media library, offering gospel-centered content in over 2,000 languages. You can drag and drop short videos into your journey to bring Scripture and story to life—no extra editing needed.

You can also embed any YouTube video—whether it’s a testimony, worship song, or short message—directly into your journey. That means your favorite content becomes a tool for digital ministry.

No Image? Use AI to Create One

If you don’t have the perfect photo for a card, use the built-in AI image generator. Just describe what you need (e.g., “a woman praying at sunset”), and the platform will create a beautiful, relevant image ready for use.

Sample a Journey

Want to see what a journey looks like in action? Try this sample: your.nextstep.is/welcome

Watch the Explainer Video

This quick video from Jesus Film Project shows how NextSteps works and how easy it is to start:

Start Now—It’s Free

Ready to make an impact? Visit NextStep.is to sign up, explore templates, and build your first journey today. It’s completely free—no subscription, no cost, just powerful digital ministry tools in your hands.

Everyone has a next step. Let’s help them take it.

You have the message. NextSteps gives you the means. Let’s reach the world—one journey at a time.

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From Hawassa to Seoul: My Journey to Lausanne 2024

9/21/2024

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It was late afternoon at Hawassa University, and I was anxiously waiting for my professor. My final project presentation was the last step before graduation. But my mind was already on my next journey—from Hawassa to Addis Ababa and then onto a flight to Seoul, South Korea, for the Global Campus Mission 2007. Hosted by Korea Campus Crusade for Christ , it was a gathering of over 15,000 students from around the world.

That moment shaped my leadership journey and deepened my passion for global missions.

Now, in 2024, I’m heading to Seoul for the Lausanne Movement congress 4. This gathering brings together Christian leaders from various sectors of the global Church, offering a glimpse of the body of Christ flavored with diverse representation.

As I prepare for Lausanne 4, I’m filled with a renewed sense of purpose, eagerly wondering what God will do this time and excited to envision new possibilities of making Jesus known to everyone, everywhere.

What I’m hopeful for at Lausanne 4:

✅Experiencing God’s glory through worship and mission-focused discussions.

✅Listening to God and others to learn from diverse perspectives and insights on the State of The Great Commission.

✅Dreaming and activating what the year 2050 looks like with increased evangelism about Jesus. I love how the State of the Great Commission Report highlights the opportunities for advancing digital missions.

✅Together with my colleagues at Jesus Film, we will be sharing our product and services—both existing and forthcoming—at the booth in the Digital Discovery Center and exploring partnership opportunities.

✅Networking, reconnecting, and having fun – I’m excited to see old friends and, of course, when it’s time for pictures, instead of saying “cheese,” we’ll be saying “kimchi!” 😄

Would you join me in prayer as I embark on this journey? Your prayers for the gathering and the work God is doing are deeply appreciated. I expect God to move in new and even greater ways in 2024

#L4Congress #CongressVX

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Millions Finding Jesus Online, Hear From Malawi

4/15/2021

The last couple of months, I have been immersed in navigating our analytics migration process from one platform to a new one. Wikipedia defines Analytics as the systematic computational analysis of data or statistics. It is used for the discovery, interpretation, and communication of meaningful patterns in data. It also entails applying data patterns towards effective decision-making.

I want to share with you about one of the leading evangelistic websites Cru offers in 42 languages, EveryStudent.com. The following graphs show the trends of indicated decisions to accept Jesus over the last 10 years.

And the following numbers show the number of visitors and indicated decisions for the last 10 years on EveryStudent.com.

You might be asking different questions seeing those numbers. Let me share with you one exciting example with how God is at work.Meet Kelly, a student at Mamitete Technical College, in Malawi. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 crisis, he was browsing several websites looking for truth and hope and then came across our evangelistic website, everystudent.com, where he eventually indicated a decision for Christ.

Soon after. Kelly was followed up by Douglas, one of our staff members, and was embraced in the leadership groups, which was meeting online. Douglas began discipling Kelly one-on-one online with an invitation to join a WhatsApp Bible Study group.

Shortly after, Kelly, now empowered to share the gospel, reached out to 21 collegemates online with a gospel presentation, with 5 of them giving their lives to Christ! Since the month of May 2020, Kelly has been ministering to 15 students on his campus virtually.
As a result, a spiritual movement launched on the Namitete campus for the first time. This college is one of the six campuses opened digitally during our ministry Hope2020 campaign.
When the restriction of the lockdown is eased and students are back on campus, Kelly and his team are able to meet face to face and continue to share the good news of Jesus among students.

This is such a great opportunity in our generation to share the gospel to every corner of the earth online. And we know behind every mobile device, there is a person. Every person has a story. Every story matters to God.

The New Normal

10/13/2020

What will you do when everything you have worked on to achieve your goal vanishes?

We tend to set ambitious goals and strategic plans a year or more in advance. Things were “normal” until the end of 2019. In December I got married surrounded by many I loved, with no thought of social distancing. Then everything changed drastically and rapidly.

Faced with uncertainty, it can be tempting to continue to lead with the goals you set pre-COVID. Rather than waiting for things to go back to normal, however, you can take risks to pursue your dreams diligently with new innovative ideas.

I believe God has blessed us with digital strategies to continue striving for our goals despite an unpredictable 2020. The primary skill required here is not being technical, but being agile. Are you willing to pivot and run ministry as a continuous experiment to reach your audience?

We recently launched the Digital Academy 2.0 to equip you and your teams with basic digital strategy principles, tools and models. In a recent webinar, we discussed the need for innovation and digital transformation in Cru and gave a sneak peek of The Basics series as practical next steps for participants.

Take for example, Yomi Adeyinka, our digital champion in Nigeria. Yomi is going through The Basics with his 27 co-workers, including the Great Commission Movement Nigeria’s national team leader. After watching each training video individually, they come together on WhatsApp to reflect on the content. Yomi and his team are taking on new projects as they go through The Basics. His one-sentence description for The Basics is as follows: “It’s short, clear and straight to the point with a sample and worksheet.”

Why wait? Experience it for yourself like Yomi.

You can take risks to pursue your dreams diligently with new innovative ideas. - Miheret Tilahun

Join us in digital missions

10/9/2020

Join us in digital missions as we launch a global hackathon starting today. Watch my friend Simon Seow shares the heart behind digital missions.

There Is Hope campaign transforms lives

8/14/2020

This post was first shared on Indigitous.org.
The coronavirus disrupted everything. Our ministry made a number of pivots. It required taking risks — big and small. We took a risk to see if we could link people’s need for prayer with an experience of being prayed for plus a Gospel presentation. We called the experiment There Is Hope.
We are doing three things with this experiment:

Lead generation contacts generated: In the last 90 days, more than 5,346 leads were generated of individuals sharing their prayer requests and contact details with us. They are now being served through our mentor center. We also acquired more than 30,000 new social media followers.
Gospel presentations take place during the prayer experience: Twenty-five prayer events were streamed live on Zoom and social media. Each experience was concluded with a direct Gospel presentation and an invitation to receive Jesus as personal Lord and Savior.
Digital missionaries are mobilized: Teams from FamilyLife, Athletes In Action, Prayer Igniters (coordinators), Student-Led Movement, and LeaderImpact from Nigeria, Philippines, Canada, USA, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Kenya are involved.

“I hope I can be prayed for on this platform…Please pray for me and beg God on my behalf to forgive me and grant me one last chance.” This desperate request was sent to us by a young man named Justin*. Justin is a fetish priest. He wrote to us after an online prayer experience organized to give hope to Nigerians during the pandemic. The event had attracted more than 16,000 people on Facebook over the last five weeks. It is easy for many people to say yes to receiving prayer!

Samuel, a missionary in Nigeria, received one of the contacts generated by a “There Is Hope” prayer event. As he connected with this person, Yusuf, he found out that Yusuf was contemplating suicide. As a result of Samuel’s conversation and prayers, Yusuf decided not to attempt suicide. But it didn’t end there. Yusuf later met a lady, Aisha, who told him that she was thinking about suicide. Yusuf then shared his experience with her about the encouragement he received in Jesus when he, too, had been contemplating suicide. Aisha was so encouraged that she decided not to continue with her plans.

In a live event hosted in the Philippines, we saw 72 people indicate their decision to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. The thousands of prayer requests we have received from all these countries have similar trends. People are experiencing loneliness, fear and anxiety, relationship struggles, health challenges and financial struggles. People need hope that only God can provide. The There Is Hope campaign aims to help them experience that hope.
* Editor’s note: For security reasons, all names have been changed.

How Do We Seize Viral Opportunities for Christ?

8/14/2020

The Blessing

This blogpost was first shared on equipping4eministry.com

I’m sure by now most of you are aware of The Blessing by Kari Jobe and Cody Carnes. This beautiful song went viral in a short period of time. It was such a prophetic and anointed one right before the global pandemic. Singers from all over the world adopted this song into their languages, cultures, and music arrangements. I have seen city mayors, influencers, and people at every level engaging with this music as their own. It would be neat to see the impact through detailed analytics.

I have been reflecting on this song and what I learn from it. The number of views is huge . . . not just in English but in all the languages shared on YouTube.

The original video has 18,665 comments. All these engagements are organic (I’m not sure if there was any paid advertising by the music owners). I even saw some comments from people sharing how they received Jesus Christ.
I continued scrolling the comment sections and couldn’t believe what I was reading. People are choosing joy over their suffering. Others are still asking for justice, healing, and even favor from God in a humble spirit. People are sharing their stories with the World.

There are 368K thumbs up… and 7.3K thumbs down. I ask myself, “Why did they give thumbs down for this music?” I’m sure some viewers have more questions for God and for us.

So what, Miheret?

Watching the video encouraged me, but left me with more questions. I was frustrated. This video could be a great opportunity for deeper spiritual conversations and for building online communities. How can we seize these opportunities? The people commenting on YouTube matter to God. Many may need a community where they could grow in their walk with Jesus Christ.

How Do We Seize Viral Opportunities for Christ?

Several social media links are under the video description, but no invitations. Did any of the 23+ million viewers need and find answers or community?

Of course, this global engagement is bigger than one church could handle. How do we help the body of Christ to win, build, and send Christ-centered multiplying disciples? Do we have tools and strategies for this kind of opportunity or do we need new ones?

I imagined more but will stop here. I pray every person touched by this music finds a community where they can impact their world for Jesus. May this even be true for those who are still angry with God.

May we be the ones who help. Let’s face the new world today to be relevant for tomorrow.

Let's Go Digital - Here's How!

3/24/2020

“...Has anything like this ever happened in your days?...” Prophet Joel asked this question to elders and everyone who listened. Joel 1:2

Just like in Joel’s time, we are asking ourselves, "What explanation can be given for what is happening around the world right now? Who thought a flu-like virus could shut down all regular activities almost everywhere in the world?" In our generation, this is one of the biggest global phenomena we are witnessing.

A few days after the Cru Digital Strategy core team meetings, we immediately started shaping our communication to help fellow staff members fully shift into digital ministry opportunities. This is the time where our global digital strategy team is stretching to serve all Cru ministries to pivot into digital space.

Together with your ministry partnership, in the last 7 days, we are seeing 197 countries reached with COVID-related articles to help spiritual needs (fear, anxiety, and suffering) in our global digital ecosystem. 92 decisions for Christ via COVID-19 pages across Everystudent.com sites

Starting tomorrow, on March 25-27, the Indigitous community will be hosting five regional webinars curated in five continents (Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, and South America) on practical digital ideas and tools that will help leaders engage in this challenging season. So far we have 1,500 people registered for all of these webinars already!

If you are interested, signup for one of the webinars to learn more about new ways of doing ministry during COVID-19 and answering these questions:

- How do we reach people online?
- How do we disciple people online?
- How do we do church online?

The relationship bridge of technology is more important than ever! You can care for the people of your congregation or network, and invite those who are far from Jesus to experience love, forgiveness, and community found in Him, using digital strategies. You can have a growing, effective ministry over distance and we want to help!

Please forward this to friends and church leaders you know by sharing the links on the left.

9 Tips to lead small virtual groups

GodTools 2019 Year in Review

1/16/2020

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Helping You Share Your Faith

2019 Snapshot Thank you Lord for each life you touched

These tools help you simply and clearly explain to someone how they can begin a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Why use GodTools?

GodTools can help you share your faith any time, any place, and in multiple languages. Think of it as your always ready guide to evangelism.

80+ LanguagesWith the toggle button you can easily switch between your heart language and theirs.

Get it on the app store here

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