For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,Colossians 1:9
A new digital awakening is unfolding in churches, where pastors and prayer apps are turning to artificial intelligence to reach worshippers, personalize sermons, and power chatbots that resemble God.
Why it matters: AI is helping some churches stay relevant in the face of shrinking staff, empty pews and growing online audiences. But the practice raises new questions about who, or what, is guiding the flock.
New AI-powered apps allow you to "text with Jesus" or "talk to the Bible," giving the impression you are communicating with a deity or angel.
Other apps can create personalized prayers, let you confess your sins or offer religious advice on life's decisions.
Megachurches are consolidating the remaining faithful, but even the most charismatic pastors struggle to offer private counseling with such large congregations.
Zoom in: In recent months, churches have been deploying chatbots to answer frequently asked questions, such as service times, event details, and giving information, and even share scripture.
EpiscoBot, a chatbot developed by the TryTank Research Institute for the Episcopal Church, responds to spiritual or faith-related queries, drawing on church resources.
Other AI apps analyze congregational data (attendance and engagement) to tailor outreach and communications.
And more pastors are admitting that they use AI to assist in creating sermons or reduce writing time.
What they're saying: "Every church or house of worship is a business. There are absolutely opportunities to generate AI bots to evangelize," Rev. Chris Hope, founder of the Boston-based Hope Group, tells Axios.
Hope's consulting firm helps churches and minority-owned businesses use "ethical" AI.
"AI can help with greater scheduling, coordination of preaching engagements and missions work. We haven't tapped the surface with how we could integrate these technologies to advance the Word of God."
Yes, but: The AI use getting the most attention (and scrutiny) are those that create the feeling that users are talking to a divine power or clergy.
The Text With Jesus app allows users to "embark on a spiritual journey and engage in enlightening conversations with Jesus Christ," according to the app's website.
The app also gives users the option to "talk" with other Biblical characters, including Mary, Joseph, Judas Iscariot, and even Satan.
Catholic apps One Day Confess and Confession - Catholic help users with confession and spiritual reflection, providing AI-guided responses based on biblical texts.
Rev. Louis Attles, who guides La Mott A.M.E. Church, a small parish in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, tells Axios he also created a chatbot named "Faith" that helps him conduct research for his sermons.
"You can't outsource your morality," Attles said. "It cannot keep a covenant for you."
Between the lines: It's unclear what translations of the Bible the apps are using, if they are texts from early church fathers or ideological materials from strictly conservative groups, Jones said.
Mark Graves, research director at AI and Faith, a nonprofit focused on engaging religions with AI, tells Axios that the apps are in their early phases and are likely using publicly available material for their datasets.
"I think the incentives are to get it out quickly and just see what happens. The risks are very high," Graves said.
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U.S. and Saudi officials have been holding intense negotiations to finalize a broad set of agreements, including a defense pact, ahead of next week's White House visit by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), U.S. officials tell Axios.
Those meetings include a previously unreported visit by Jared Kushner to Riyadh over the weekend to meet MBS.
Why it matters: The planned Oval Office meeting with President Trump will be MBS' first visit to the U.S. since the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi, which U.S. intelligence assessed he approved.
It will be the ultimate validation for the 40-year-old Crown Prince, who could soon become king and already sees himself as the leader of the Arab and Muslim world.
Behind the scenes: One of the agreements being discussed ahead of the visit would provide Saudi Arabia with a U.S. security guarantee.
That pact would fall short of a legally binding defense treaty, which would be nearly impossible to pass through the Senate. Saudi national security adviser Musaad Al-Aiban visited the U.S. recently to discuss the possible agreement.
Sources briefed on the issue said the model will be the same as the pledge Qatar received in September via executive order, meaning any future administration could revoke it.
The Saudis also want to move forward with the purchase of a massive weapons package, including dozens of F-35 fighter jets.
The Saudi embassy did not respond to requests for comment.
Driving the news: Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman (KBS), the crown prince's younger brother and close confidant, visited Washington on Monday and Tuesday to prepare for MBS' meeting with Trump.
He met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House envoy Steve Witkoff. "We explored ways to bolster our strategic cooperation. We also addressed regional and international developments," KBS wrote on X.
Saudi Arabia's economy and energy ministers also visited Washington in recent weeks to prepare for MBS' visit.
Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, discussed the path forward on Gaza with MBS among other issues,sources familiar with the meeting say.
Between the lines: The U.S. and Saudi Arabia announced a big package of agreements during Trump's trip to Saudi Arabia last May, but most haven't been implemented.
The Saudis were disappointed that many were "left on paper" without much follow-up, a source with knowledge said.
Zoom out: One issue U.S. and Saudi officials discussed in recent weeks was how to resume talks on possible normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia now that the Gaza war has ended, U.S. and Israeli officials say.
Trump's advisers have been urging Netanyahu to look at the big picture of a potential peace deal with Saudi Arabia and to move forward on implementing the next phases of the Gaza peace deal.
While Trump and his advisers acknowledge that the gaps between the Saudis and the Israelis are still wide and more work needs to be done to close them, the White House told the Saudis it wants to see some progress on this issue around the Trump-MBS meeting, two U.S. officials said.
The main gap is Saudi Arabia's demand that, in return for normalization, Israel take concrete steps toward an irreversible, time-bound path to Palestinian statehood. Netanyahu still refuses to take any steps on that issue.
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