More eyes on the work: how two Elim leaders are using AI

Mark Pugh and Stuart Blount have both spent around 18 months making AI part of their working week. They've found it a genuinely useful assistant, and they're both clear about where its job ends.

After Mark Pugh preaches, he'll sometimes go onto YouTube, download the transcript of his sermon and paste it into an AI model with a simple request: "Give me some feedback on this sermon."

"It's been really helpful over the last year or so to get that response, that appraisal, that opportunity to learn and sharpen the gift that God has placed within you," says Elim's General Superintendent.

He asks fellow preachers for feedback too. AI has simply become one more voice in that conversation.

Stuart Blount, Elim's Director of Ministry, has always enjoyed technology, but says AI came as "quite a revolution". "It's strengthening how I lead," he says.

Both have recorded videos about what they've learned, and you can watch them below.

Checking the tone

Some time ago, Stuart made a discovery about himself.

"If I'm excited, if I'm animated, if I'm concerned, if I'm frustrated, I often would speak with a tone," he says. He realised the same could come through in his writing.

"There have been times, rightly, people have come back to me and asked if there's something in what I'm saying that maybe could've been communicated better."

Now, before sending a difficult email, he puts it into Copilot, the AI tool used centrally by Elim. He asks it to keep the content the same while checking that the message is clear and the tone appropriate.

For sensitive emails, Mark's prompt is simple: "Please ensure that this is warm, professional and clear."

"It doesn't rewrite it for me, doesn't throw my work out and say, 'Start again,' but it does create some suggestions that more often than not, as I read them back, I think, 'That was really helpful,'" he says.

"That's what a good assistant should do. It isn't there to affirm us. It's there to try to help us ensure that we are having more eyes on the work."

A thinking partner

Stuart describes AI as a "thinking partner", something he can process ideas and thoughts with "in a really fascinating and intelligent way".

Mark will often talk a half-formed idea through with AI, explain his thinking so far and then ask for "the best three places to start".

"You don't take what it comes back with and say, 'Okay, that's the way forward,'" he says. "You take it, you review it, the same as you would with an assistant sitting next to you at the table."

For Stuart, AI can also act as a research assistant when he's preparing to teach or preach, helping him explore topics, organise ideas and shape a framework.

Doing the heavy reading

Both leaders also use AI to get into lengthy reports. Stuart asks for a summary that can sit alongside the full document and point him towards the areas that need his attention.

Faced with a substantial building surveyor's report full of technical language, Mark asked AI to identify the most important points and flag any concerns.

"I will read the whole document," he says, "but this will help focus me on where my attention should be."

First drafts

AI has also helped both leaders with the early stages of creating something.

When preaching at his local church, Mark felt the message needed a response beyond coming to the front or raising a hand. He wanted to give people something to help them keep engaging with it over the following days, so he uploaded his sermon notes and asked AI to create a three-day Bible study guide.

But that wasn't the end of the process.

"Read over it, check it, contextualise it, make changes, put your personality into it," he says.

Stuart finds AI useful for early drafts and for helping him get unstuck on ideas, while recognising its limitations.

"It's not able to pick up the nuances sometimes of our knowledge of someone or a situation," he says.

Where the line sits

Mark puts it bluntly: "It can make productive people more productive. It can make lazy people more lazy."

The risk comes when AI becomes a way of bypassing the mind and capacity God has given us, he says.

"We find the soul being extracted out of what we do. We're essentially communicating truth from one heart to another, and that heart needs to be involved. The AI doesn't provide that for us."

Stuart is equally clear that there are things AI cannot replace.

"Your voice is your voice," he says. "People need to hear from us, not just a bot."

For him, that also means being careful about accuracy, checking the sources behind statistics or quotations, and protecting confidential information. He warns against putting information covered by GDPR, or private information entrusted to ministers, into AI tools without being confident about how that information will be handled.

Above all, he says, AI must never replace time with God.

"I still believe that the greatest source of inspiration and intelligence in anything we do is the voice of the Spirit."

Whatever tools he uses, the responsibility stays with him. "I still remain responsible for the message, for the tone, and for the outworking of my ministry."

Mark's challenge: don't allow AI to become a shortcut around "spending time in the presence of God and hearing His voice and allowing Him to shape our thinking".

"Let's be the productive people," he says. "Let's make sure that we're keeping our heart and soul in this."

Watch: Mark and Stuart on AI in ministry

 

 

Artificial intelligence: opportunity, wisdom and mission

If Mark and Stuart's experience has raised questions about how AI might fit into your own context, there's a chance to explore it further in person.

Artificial intelligence: opportunity, wisdom and mission is a one day practical and accessible workshop is designed to help pastors and leadership teams explore the world of AI with greater confidence. Whether you are unsure where to begin, concerned about the challenges AI may bring, curious about the tools already available, or looking for encouragement about how technology could be used in your church, this day will offer helpful insight and guidance.

The day will Include:

• Practical workshops introducing useful AI tools
• Guest speakers sharing insights into AI developments around the world
• Examples of how AI can support church communication, administration, creativity and mission
• Guidance on using AI wisely, safely and responsibly
• Space for discussion, reflection and healthy debate
• Opportunities to ask questions and explore concerns

It is time to consider the opportunities and challenges AI presents for churches at this event held at Rediscover Church, Northernhay Street, Exeter on Thursday 15 October 2026 from 10:00-15.30.

Will you join us at this event which seeks to equip churches to embrace and navigate the digital space?

BOOK YOUR PLACE ONLINE