Show Notes
Most of what an AI model says about your ministry doesn't come from your website. It comes from what other people have published about you — and that changes almost everything about comms strategy. Recorded at Premier in Central London on the eve of Missional AI London, host James Poulter sits down with Gareth Russell, founder of Jersey Road, an integrated comms agency working exclusively with Christian organisations across the UK, Australia, and the US — including YouVersion, Gather, and Come and See. Gareth explains why authority beats volume in the new generative-engine landscape, why that's unexpectedly good news for smaller ministries with modest budgets, and why he'd rather talk about reputation governance than reputation management. Christian organisations, he argues, shouldn't be protecting a brand — they should be building trust. Handled well, even a public crisis can leave an organisation stronger. The conversation also covers AI impersonation and misused imagery, the generational divide that leaves leadership teams too slow to respond, what ABBA Voyage and Tim Keller's enduring reach suggest about teaching legacy, and why outsourcing your thought leadership to AI is the fastest way to sound exactly like everyone else. (00:02:22) Who Jersey Road are, and why they dropped "PR" (00:03:58) GEO, AEO, AIEO: the new optimisation landscape (00:06:13) Why earned media drives what the models say (00:08:39) Volume, recency, or authority? (00:10:45) Reputation management to reputation governance (00:13:30) New categories of AI risk (00:16:18) William Booth, brass bands, and meeting people where they are (00:18:35) The generational block in leadership teams (00:19:33) Legacy and posthumous teaching content (00:22:49) Live translation and global reach (00:27:44) Don't outsource your thought leadership (00:30:16) Authenticity is overdone — credibility is the new currency Newsletter and upcoming global gatherings: missional.ai
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What makes us human when machines can write, compose, and create, sometimes better than we can? Dr. Ed Stetzer, Dean of Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, sat down with us right after his talk at the Missional AI SV26 Global Summit in Santa Clara. Ed argues that what sets humanity apart was never really intelligence. It’s the Imago Dei, the conviction that every person bears the image of God. And he says the church must ask not only what AI will do for us, but what it will do to us. In this episode: Why secular culture struggles to say why humans matter once something smarter shows up Why a ChatGPT sermon in Ed’s voice might be good, but wouldn’t be his Where AI fits, and doesn’t, in spiritual formation How Christians can be both discerning and engaged with AI Why a small group sharing tacos may be one of the most countercultural things the church can do “I think part of it is being an embodied community in a disembodied world.” – Ed Stetzer Join us at Missional AI SFO27: AI in Action March 30 – April 1, 2027, Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Early bird pricing ends December 31, 2026. Register at https://missional.ai Free resource: Get our ethical guide to using AI in your ministry and organization at https://missional.ai This episode is sponsored by EC Group, a business-as-mission software company and missional software partner to faith-based organizations for 26 years. https://ecgroup-intl.com Chapters (00:00) Cold open (00:47) Episode introduction (02:07) Sponsor: EC Group (02:45) Missional AI SFO27 (03:28) Meet Dr. Ed Stetzer (04:03) The Imago Dei and where human dignity comes from (05:14) When AI gets better than us at everything (06:58) We bear God’s image (08:18) How Christians can talk about human uniqueness (09:43) What AI is doing to us (10:24) AI and spiritual formation (11:18) The sermon in Ed’s voice (12:20) Neither hype nor fear (13:45) Productivity, isolation, and the church’s opportunity (14:37) An embodied community in a disembodied world (15:21) Recommended resources
In 1999, a Michigan entrepreneur sensed God calling him to India. He started a business there with one purpose: to fund missional work. Twenty-seven years later, EC Group's purpose hasn't changed, but its business has, from medical transcription to software development, and now into the age of AI. Recorded live at the Missional AI Global Summit in Santa Clara, Stuart sits down with Mike Sudyk, who has led EC Group since 2018. Mike shares why EC Group chose to pull its teams and clients toward AI tools rather than wait for them to ask, and how safe-space sharing sessions and volunteer hackathons helped senior developers move past resistance. He explains how a people-centric, long-term business can embrace efficiency without treating people as expendable, and why both the "AI will replace everything" crowd and the skeptics make for difficult conversations. Mike also gets candid about his own wake-up call: realizing that fear about AI's threat to his business had quietly shut down his creativity, and how stepping away to build hands-on changed that. A thoughtful, practical conversation for any leader navigating change. This episode is sponsored by EC Group, a business-as-mission software company that has served as a missional software partner to faith-based and mission-driven organizations for 27 years, supporting Scripture engagement, discipleship, outreach and ministry innovation worldwide. Learn more at ecgroup-intl.com. Join us at Missional AI SFO27, March 30–April 1, 2027, at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport. Super early bird pricing ends October 8, with early bird pricing continuing through the end of the year. Register at missional.ai. Table of contents (00:00) Cold open(01:07) Introduction and sponsor: EC Group(02:52) Join us at Missional AI SFO27(03:31) Origin story: a call to India and a business built to fund mission(06:03) Why employee retention became EC Group's core value(08:22) Adapting the team for an AI future(09:39) Guiding clients through the noise(11:38) Two unlocks: safe-space sharing and hackathons(13:15) Staying people-centric while embracing automation(16:27) Finding the honest middle between hype and skepticism(19:56) Making time to learn, and Mike's personal wake-up call(22:20) Fear of obsolescence vs. a vision for resilience(23:33) How technology is reshaping opportunity for mission(26:11) Early bird registration for MAI SFO27
Money is one of the most uncomfortable conversations in the faith and mission world, so we went straight at it. Recorded live at Missional AI SV26, this panel with Henry Kaestner, James Cham, and Jess Chin tackles financing, investment, and building things that last at the intersection of mission and marketplace. Henry argues that the first question isn't how to raise capital but whether you should raise it at all. James makes the case that the best source of financing is a customer, not an investor. And Jess shares a surprising insight: the next generation doesn't value free things. They want to pay for what they believe in. We also explore how AI is forcing investors back to first principles, why trust networks may be the one moat AI can't replicate, and a bold vision for the Body of Christ pooling its data to tackle foster care, hunger, church planting, and human trafficking. 🎟️ Super Early Bird for Missional AI SFO 2027 is open until October 8! It's the lowest price of the year, and we'd love for you to join us in San Francisco, March 30 – April 2, 2027. Register at https://missional.ai Chapters: (00:00) Highlights (01:07) Welcome & episode overview (02:44) Missional AI SFO 2027 Super Early Bird (03:24) Where do you start? On your knees (04:57) Three routes to funding (07:32) The best source of financing is a customer (09:39) Gen Z doesn't want free (11:43) Philanthropy isn't "easy money" (14:01) AI and the investor's deal box (16:56) AI that accelerates human care (20:06) Trust networks: the moat AI can't replicate (22:06) Pooling Kingdom data to solve the world's biggest problems (23:57) Closing
Gaylen Washington of YouVersion joins the Missional AI Podcast to talk about the YouVersion Platform, the next chapter in the YouVersion story. The platform opens up the Bible app's content, licensing, and infrastructure so developers anywhere in the world can build their own faith experiences: Bible readers, Scripture-infused apps, and even Bible experiences inside Roblox.But this conversation goes well beyond the tech. Gaylen shares how AI is reshaping the way he leads a team of over a hundred engineers, what direct, gospel-centered conversations about disruption and fear look like inside a ministry, and what kind of people are thriving in this AI-first season. Hint: it's not about the degree, it's about curiosity and humility.In this episode:- What the YouVersion Platform is, and how anyone can start building within minutes- The road to simpler Bible licensing for builders- How agentic AI workflows help a product leader stay across a large engineering org- Naming fear and disruption openly in a ministry team- The traits of people who thrive in an AI-first organization- Practical advice for believers navigating corporate workplacesRecorded live at Missional AI SV26 in Silicon Valley.Get started with the YouVersion Platform: platform.youversion.comMISSIONAL AI SFO27Global Missional AI Summit | March 30 – April 1, 2027 | Hyatt Regency SFO Super early bird registration opens September 24 and closes October 8. Book your hotel room with your registration and the price drops to just $399, the lowest we've ever offered. Register at missional.ai.
AI isn't just changing what you do — it's changing what you believe you're capable of. 🎙️ James Poulter talks with Andrew McLuhan — poet, teacher, and grandson of media theorist Marshall McLuhan — recorded live at the Missional AI Summit. They dig into whether AI can have consciousness, why that's not the same as having a soul, and why reason and resonance are two totally different things. Plus: the real myth of Narcissus and Echo — and what it says about every AI chat window you've ever opened. 🗓️ Missional AI 2027 hits San Francisco March 30 – April 1. Super early bird registration is coming soon at missional.ai.