Friends, After a lot of prayer and reflection, I've decided to close Ministry AI, and I want to explain why. During my 52 Churches in 52 Weeks journey, I saw a real lack of connection in about 75% of the churches I visited. People came in, sat down, and left without anyone truly knowing them. I've continued visiting churches since then, and that pattern hasn't changed. That experience changed how I see AI in ministry. Adding AI to a congregation that hasn't become a true community won't fix the real problem. Tools strengthen what is already there. They can help a connected church serve people better, but they can't create connection where it doesn't exist. I believe building a true community mindset from the very beginning is one of the most important things any ministry can do. And I don't think that's only true for churches. As AI takes on more of our work, people will long for real connection with others who share their experiences and challenges. In the near future, community building will be a cornerstone of every thriving business, church, and nonprofit. That's where I feel called to focus now, and I couldn't do that well while also leading this group. Rather than give Ministry AI less than it deserved, I chose to close it honestly. To everyone who joined, shared ideas, and gave this group a chance, thank you. I'm sorry it didn't become everything it could have been. Your willingness to explore something new together meant a great deal to me. My door is always open. You can click my profile picture to see what I'm working on next, or to save a way to contact me later. You're also welcome to save my cell number, +1 270-901-9063, in your phone. Feel free to call me or send me a direct message anytime. I'd love to hear how you're doing, and I'll help every one of you in any way I can. Grace and peace, Todd

Anybody else thankful for all @Todd Thornton does for us?! Let’s show our appreciation. Share how he’s helped you below. I’ll go first :)

When I started building this community, I knew mental health and mindset had to be part of it. That's actually one of the reasons I landed on the name "Ministry Unlocked." Unlocked points to a lot more than AI. You don't have to look far to see it. Almost every day there's another sobering statistic on depression, loneliness, and even suicide. And it isn't just out there in the general population. It's hitting ministry leaders too, often the very people everyone else leans on. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀. There's a program called Positive Intelligence that has made a real difference for a lot of people, and the first step costs you nothing. I'm sharing a link to the free "Saboteur Assessment." You might be looking at the Saboteur Assessment and thinking, "Isn't this just another personality test?" It's a fair question, and the answer is no. The difference actually matters. A personality test is built to tell you who you are. It sorts you into a type and largely leaves it there. You're this kind of person, and that's the end of the conversation. There's nothing to fix and nothing to change, just a label to understand. Positive Intelligence works differently. It doesn't try to define you. Instead it surfaces the mental habits that quietly work against you, the patterns of self-doubt, perfectionism, people-pleasing, or fear that most of us picked up long ago without realizing it. And here's the key word: habits. Habits can be changed. The whole point of this assessment isn't to box you in. It's to show you what's been holding you back so you can begin to loosen its grip. That's why I'm drawn to it for Ministry Unlocked. A personality type asks you to accept who you are. This work invites you to grow, and growth and renewal are at the very heart of our faith. We're not meant to stay stuck in old patterns. We're meant to be transformed.

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! 👏

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.