AI tools are everywhere, and picking the right one gets harder by the week. We are doing something about it to make your life easier. In "This vs That", we take the two leading AI tools for one specific task, run them through the same test, show you the real results, and tell you which one fits which job. No hype, just honest guidance for the work we are called to. Each post names a task, puts the top two tools head-to-head, and gives you a clear verdict on when to use each. Not sure who the top two are for your task? That is exactly what we are here to figure out. Here is where you come in. What should we compare first? Maybe there is a tool you already love and you want to know if something better is out there. Tell us in the comments, and we will turn the top requests into our first articles. What do you want to see? The more specific you can be, the better. "Images," for example, could mean a lot of different things, and the best tool changes depending on what you need. Are you thinking infographics, YouTube thumbnails, realistic ministry scenes, or something else? Tell us exactly what you have in mind, and we can point you to the right matchup.

If you were given the following emoji challenge, what would you create. Today’s emoji are: 👽🍔🌵🚗 Your job is to create an image inspired by those emojis! There's a creative challenge going around a large AI community right now. You're probably wondering what that has to do with ministry. Stay with me, because it connects. Here's what most people will do. They'll open ChatGPT or Claude and type "create an image based on these emojis." That's it. No brainstorming, no wrestling with the concept, no chasing an idea that nobody else would land on. And because everyone is doing the exact same thing, almost everyone gets the exact same result. Their content blends into the pile. When I look at ministry content, the thing I notice most is a lack of originality. I understand why. We're handling a serious subject, and the instinct is to play it safe. But here's the reality. As more people lean on AI to create more content, the bar for standing out keeps rising. If your tool is handing you the same answer it's handing everyone else, your message gets buried before it ever reaches the person who needed it. The way through is the part most people skip. Go back and forth with the tools. Push them. Bring your own ideas to the table and let the AI stretch them instead of replacing them. Brainstorm the concept before you ever ask for the final product. That extra effort, the conversation rather than the command, will almost always give you something worth sharing. I don't usually enter contests like this one. But I did this time. Check out my entry in the comments. Is this too far out there for ministry? Yes. But that's the point. It's an example of a different type of thinking. Instead of just showing what the emojis mean, the concept itself becomes something a person reacts (can even related to) with "I've never seen that before." That's what it's going to take going forward, when there's more clutter than ever. And this isn't just a ministry thing. Whatever you're creating, ministry or not, the principle holds. The people willing to think past the obvious answer are the ones who'll still get noticed.

We are thrilled to recognize @Jean Day McCarthy as our Member of the Month for May 2026. Jean currently sits at the top of our 30-day leaderboard, but that is only part of her story. What truly sets her apart is the encouragement and positivity she brings to this community every single day. Her energy is genuinely contagious, and it lifts everyone around her. From what we can tell, this is not something she turns on just for us. She shows up the same way across other communities and within her own. Jean is the founder of The Digital Trail Guide on Skool, where she helps women 50+ navigate their own paths forward. It is fitting work for someone with her background as a park ranger, where guiding people through unfamiliar terrain was part of the job. She has simply traded the trails of the wilderness for the trails of the digital world. 𝗝𝗲𝗮𝗻, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝘀. Normally, being named Member of the Month comes with the option to have me write a song about you and/or your community somewhere down the road. Jean, though, did not have to wait. Her spirit impressed me so much that her anthem was written a couple of months ago. It is called "You Were Made for This Climb," and I think the title says everything about who Jean is. 🎉 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗝𝗲𝗮𝗻. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱. Let's all give her a well-earned round of applause! 👏

There's a pretty big hint in the picture! 😉

I'm working hard to update our content and move everything into this community, and I wanted to share where things stand. Tomorrow, you'll see a brand new free, open course with "52 Weeks.52 Lessons" in the title. This content comes straight from my 52 Churches in 52 Weeks tour, where I identified the best strategies working in ministry right now. Every week, I'll drop a new lesson designed to take your ministry to the next level. ___ 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 If you were a Premium member on the old community, you should now see a Premium tag on your membership here. If you don't, please let me know, and I'll get it fixed. Recent updates include, but aren't limited to: courses, calendar entries, images, and tags. New content is coming in every single day. One more thing worth celebrating: over the last two weeks, we've climbed about 1,000 spots in our Skool category rankings. We're in the tech category which has a massive amount of Skool communities. Those category rankings are driven largely by activity and engagement, so the more you tell us what you need, the better we can deliver, the more you can engage and the cycle continues and your mission grows. Your voice genuinely moves this community forward. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴. P.S. A quick reminder on how the community is set up. Ministry Unlocked is a freemium public community, so anyone can read the main posts without even logging in. There's also a free membership that lets people comment, join free webinars, and more. And as mentioned above, there's a paid Premium option at $47 a month that unlocks the extra benefits, calls, and resources. I mention this in case you'd like to invite friends or family who'd be a good fit. There's a 20% referral fee built in when someone you invite chooses Premium, but the referral only gets captured if they use your unique invite code, so be sure to share yours.