DDMN: Teams Using Artifical Intelligence

Executive Summary, Digital Disciple Making Network / By /

Overview

The Digital Disciple Making Network (DDMN) gathered mission practitioners and technologists from around the world for a 90-minute online meeting titled “Teams Using Artificial Intelligence.” The discussion explored how artificial intelligence can accelerate disciple-making movements—while raising critical questions about ethics, security, and the irreplaceable role of human connection.

The session drew 65participants representing global mission organizations. Clyde Taber provided a historical overview of DDMN’s evolution—from its beginnings in Arabic digital outreach to becoming a collaborative network of over 60 mission organizations using digital strategies to make disciples who make disciples. Formerly known as the Media Movements Coalition, the rebranded DDMN now serves as a volunteer-driven hub for innovation, resource-sharing, and digital evangelism. “The goal,” Clyde reminded the group, “isn’t to replace relationships with technology, but to use technology to help them grow faster and deeper.”

Presentations

Don, Director of Innovation and AI at IMB

He opened the presentations with a strong message: before building tools, ministries must first build ethics. IMB developed a theological and ethical framework for AI before deploying its systems in the field—anchoring its innovation in biblical values.

He showcased FaithBot (faithbot.io), an evangelistic chatbot that invites seekers to ask spiritual questions online. Through thousands of ad interactions, FaithBot has provided contextual insights into local audiences—informing culturally sensitive ad campaigns and outreach efforts.

A case from Zimbabwe’s Shona-speaking community revealed how one user’s share of a FaithBot link generated 15 new seekers in a single day. Don stressed that “AI is a servant, not a substitute,” emphasizing the need for secure, paid AI solutions to prevent data leaks from free platforms.

George, One Way Ministries

He followed with a candid talk titled “Replacing Missionaries with AI Chatbots: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?”—a humorous yet sobering exploration of AI’s potential and pitfalls. His team has used Facebook Messenger bots to move seekers from digital ads toward online Bible studies, achieving impressive reach and multilingual engagement.

George warned of common failures: bots that lose conversation threads, misinterpret emotional cues, or even generate false promises—issues he called “AI hallucinations.” Transparency, he emphasized, is crucial: ministries should always disclose when AI is being used, supervise conversations in real time, and review chat transcripts daily. “AI can start conversations,” he said, “but only humans can finish them with truth and grace.”

Chris, Gospel Ambition

He showcased how small teams can leverage AI to multiply their capacity tenfold. His team developed AI-driven campaigns for Zúme Training, a 20-hour discipleship course, using highly targeted ads, automated landing pages, and keyword optimization. A Spanish-language campaign generated 27 new registrations in just ten days.

Chris also introduced an AI plugin for Disciple.Tools, enabling natural-language searches, filtering, and data summarization for better field communication. The system integrates Prediction Guard, ensuring data security—a priority echoed throughout the meeting.

He highlighted other projects under development, including:

  • An interview-based bot to guide potential missionaries in planning their journey.
  • A gospel practice tool for evangelism role-play.
  • A Mapinator app for researching mission fields.

“Even small, resource-limited teams,” Chris said, “can operate like a team of ten with the right digital strategy.”

Chris is offering an AI Follow-Up Zoom call at 9AM Central/10AM Eastern Time Tuesday, November 11. Email amy@gospelambition.org if you’d like to attend and she’ll send the Zoom details. During the call, Chris and the Gospel Ambition team, we will provide a step-by-step tutorial of how to use AI to build a full Google Ad campaign and all the assets involved. They will provide the starter prompts and show you the technologies and how to use them. They will also share more details of how you can use the AI integration in Disciple.Tools to make multiplier’s, dispatcher’s, and administrator’s lives easier.

  • Q&A

Daniel from DeoLink introduced an AI tool that supports discipleship training by supplementing human coaches with curated resources and prompts. Discussions also touched on language integration, emphasizing that future tools must serve local-language communities often overlooked by global AI developers.

The group discussed cost considerations, security safeguards, and benchmarking AI tools for mission use. Participants also exchanged insights from their own outreach contexts, with breakout rooms encouraging practitioners to reflect on what excites or concerns them most about AI.

Throughout the session, one message resonated: AI can amplify the reach of digital discipleship—but it must remain accountable to biblical truth, cultural wisdom, and human oversight.

From FaithBot to field-tested training tools, the gathering reflected a growing movement at the intersection of faith and technology—where innovation serves not as the goal but as the vessel for the gospel’s timeless message.

Resources

AI & Digital Tools

Communities

Learning

Training

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