Don't you hate it when you block off a full hour for a meeting, and the first 20 minutes are a complete waste? The slow start. The "can everyone see my screen?" The catching up, the throat-clearing, the wandering before anyone gets to the point. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁. Or worse, the "free training" that turns out to be a few minutes of real content wrapped in a long pitch for something else they want you to buy. 𝗪𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗼. 𝗪𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲. Most of what we do here live runs about 30 minutes, and that is a decision, not a shortcut. The thinking behind it is simple. We match the time to the value, never the other way around. 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝗽, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘁, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻. When a topic genuinely needs more room, we give it more room. A mastermind might run 60 to 90 minutes, because real depth and real conversation take time, and we will not rush something that deserves space. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁. 𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲-𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝘂𝘁. 𝗪𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲. You will see the same thinking in our courses. The lessons come in bite-sized steps, 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀, because your time is divided among everything else you carry. You should be able to finish a step in a gap in your day and walk away with something you can use, instead of staring down a 40-minute lesson you keep putting off until you abandon the course entirely. We work to make every five minutes worth your time, the same way we work to make every thirty. 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲: When you see 30 minutes on the calendar, do not read it as small. Read it as we respected your time enough to cut everything that would have wasted it.

Hey, I'm Todd Thornton, and I am so glad you're here. Ministry looks different for everyone. Whether you're on staff, volunteering, or just trying to make a difference, AI can help you do it better. Three things I want you to know right up front. 1) Don't just lurk. Post (1) one word in the comments. An AI tool you use, something you want to accomplish, a hidden talent. Anything. I will personally respond to every single one with my best idea for how I can help. If I'm wrong, the egg is on my face and some responses might be hilarious. 2) This is a "public" community. Everything here is visible, searchable, and shareable, even to non-members. That's on purpose. We want people to find this content. But if that's not for you, no hard feelings at all. 3) This is a link-free thread. Leave the URLs out and bring the real you. We want your thoughts, your questions, and your experience, not your bookmarks. If you are not a member you won't be able to comment or track completion in courses, but if you find something you like, just grab the link and share it freely. Posts, course pages, anything. We believe in full transparency. This is just who we are. If you're still in, let's take it one step at a time. Step one is simple. Drop only (1) ONE word in the comments below and let's see how creative Todd can get with his response.

Memorial Day weekend offers natural openings to express faith in ways that feel genuine rather than forced. Here are practical approaches, organized so you can scan and pick the ones that fit. Sharable Image Attached Honor the fallen through prayer and remembrance - Pray specifically for fallen service members and their families - Attend a memorial service or your church's special observance - Visit a cemetery to place flags or flowers on graves - Observe a personal moment of silence, connecting sacrifice to faith Practice hospitality and generosity - Open your home for a cookout or gathering, and include people who might otherwise be alone - Invite a widow, a veteran, or someone new to the area to share a meal - Welcome neighbors or coworkers who have no plans for the weekend Serve veterans and military families directly - Reach out to the surviving families of fallen soldiers with a note or call - Volunteer with an organization that supports veterans - Visit a VA facility - Offer practical help to a local military family, such as childcare, yard work, or errands Express gratitude thoughtfully - Thank veterans you know personally, rather than offering generic statements - Keep in mind the distinction that matters: Memorial Day honors those who died, while Veterans Day honors all who served Keep faith woven into family time - Offer a brief prayer before the meal - Pause to remember those who gave their lives - Model patience and kindness throughout the day - Read scripture together or talk with children about sacrifice and gratitude in age-appropriate ways Reflect on the connection between sacrifice and faith - Set aside time for personal reflection or journaling - Consider how the weekend's themes echo Christian ideas about laying down one's life for others - Have a thoughtful conversation with family or friends about what sacrifice means The most authentic approach is to live out your faith in how you treat people on the weekend, rather than through any single grand gesture.

A note to our ministry family before you read this. I shared the article below because the story behind it has been sitting on my heart, and I want us to sit with it together. Hillvue did not reach 15,000 people because of a clever program. They reached them because ordinary believers refused to stay quiet, year after year, for thirty-five years. That is the part I cannot get past. The fruit came from faithful people and a holy expectation, not from resources. So here is what I have been praying about, and I want to put it in front of you. Some of us may have thirty-five years ahead of us, and some of us may have five or ten. But every one of us has the next season, and we are standing at the start of it. And for the first time, we have a tool in our hands that those before us never had. Used wrongly, AI is just noise. But used in a biblical way, submitted to the Spirit and never set above Him, it could become to our generation what the printing press was to the Reformation, a way for ordinary people to carry the unchanging gospel further and faster than they ever could alone. Picture it with me. Imagine every believer in this room able to answer a friend's hard question about the faith at midnight, gently and truthfully, instead of going silent. Imagine reaching people in their own language, following up with every new believer so not one of them slips through the cracks, and freeing our teachers from busywork so they can do what only a human shepherd can do, which is love people face to face. AI will never be born again. It will never weep with the grieving or hold a hand at a hospital bed. It cannot replace a single one of us, and it must never try. But it can hand the ordinary believer more time, more reach, and fewer excuses for staying silent. Now run that forward, however many years the Lord gives you, whether it is five or thirty-five. If we start today, faithfully and humbly, what might He do through a people who paired the oldest message in the world with the newest tool, and who expected Him to save?

Last updated 5/22/2026 I'm not big on having a lot of complex rules, but because we've decided to make this community public, we'll need to be more intentional about keeping the conversation healthy, on-topic, and welcoming for everyone who stops by. Public visibility means a wider audience, which is great for the mission, but it also means we have to keep a closer eye on things than we would in a closed group. We've all seen groups where every thread becomes a pitch, every comment is a thinly veiled ad, and the actual learning gets buried under self-promotion. That's not what we're building here. This is a space for ministry leaders, pastors, and church workers to learn, experiment, and grow together in using AI thoughtfully for Kingdom work. These rules will adjust as we learn what the community needs. A note on grace Most rule breaks come from people who didn't read the guidelines, not bad actors. We'll assume the best on a first offense. If you're unsure whether something fits, ask a moderator before posting. Questions about these guidelines are always welcome. Message a moderator anytime. We'd rather answer than enforce. The short version - Follow the Golden Rule and treat each other with respect - Be positive and make an effort - Search before asking questions - Paid offerings go in Show and Tell only, never in regular threads - Free, genuinely useful resources are welcome when they fit the conversation - Don't repeat the same link across multiple threads - No affiliate links, no DM pitches, no spam When a thread is link-free, you'll see a note from moderators inside the post. Respect those zones. 1. Follow the Golden Rule Treat others the way you'd want to be treated. This is the foundation everything else rests on. 2. Be positive Bring energy that builds the community up. Disagree freely, but treat each other with respect. Personal attacks, sarcasm aimed at members, and contempt have no place here. We can be honest without being unkind.