In the latest episode of the Church Solutions Podcast, hosts Phil Thompson and Steve Lacy welcomed back a returning guest who is doing groundbreaking work in the world of faith-based digital transformation. So-Young Kang, founder of Gnowbe.ai, joined the show from Singapore to talk about how artificial intelligence is changing the way churches and ministries equip and disciple their communities.
But first—a quick detour into coffee. Mushroom coffee, to be exact.
Phil opened the podcast talking about his new favorite blend from a local Tucson vendor discovered at the 4th Avenue Street Fair. Despite Steve’s coffee-free lifestyle, the two shared a quick laugh before jumping into more serious business: a powerful new AI platform that’s making waves in church tech.
Introducing Gnowbe.ai: From Knowledge to Being
So-Young explained that the name Gnowbe.ai stands for “Grow Knowledge into Being.” The idea is simple but powerful: take all the knowledge we store in our heads and turn it into actionable, lived experience—especially when it comes to spiritual growth, leadership development, and discipleship.
Nobi began as a platform to help churches digitize and deliver training content. With the launch of Gnowbe.ai earlier this year, that process has become drastically faster and easier. What once took three to six months to transform a single sermon or PDF into usable training content can now be done in as little as three minutes using AI.
From Sermons to Small Group Studies in Minutes
Using the platform’s Magic Creator, churches can upload a sermon, a document, or even just type in a topic—like “1 Corinthians Bible Study”—and gnowbe.aiwill instantly generate a multimedia-rich training program. These programs include reflection questions, quizzes, interactive images, and community-sharing options. The experience is tailored for mobile use but is also accessible via web browsers, making it ideal for both in-person and remote discipleship efforts.
Steve and Phil were visibly impressed as So-Young demoed the tool in real-time. They watched gnowbe.aigenerate a full four-session Bible study on 1 Corinthians, complete with interactive learning elements, in a matter of moments. The AI even provided thoughtful reflection prompts like, “Think about a relationship that embodies the qualities of love described in 1 Corinthians 13. What specific actions or behaviors make this relationship strong?”
Use Cases That Go Beyond the Pulpit
Churches and ministries are already using Gnowbe.aiin creative ways:
- CRU International is leveraging the platform globally to equip missionaries in over 70 languages.
- A special Advent partnership with The Chosen offered daily devotional experiences that included clips from the series, reflections, and prayer-sharing.
- Local churches are using the tool for newcomer onboarding, membership classes, marriage and parenting workshops, and volunteer training—especially in areas like AV and tech ministry where consistent training materials are often lacking.
The best part? You can customize everything. From the tone of voice (casual or professional) to the learning level (basic to advanced) and even whether to include AI-generated artwork and emojis.
A Shared Mission for the Gospel
So-Young emphasized that while Gnowbe.ai does the heavy lifting—often up to 80% of content creation—it’s still a human-AI partnership. Church leaders are encouraged to review, refine, and personalize their content before publishing it to their groups.
Her ultimate vision is bold and inspiring: to equip churches and ministries to reach one billion people with the gospel. To make that happen, Gnowbe.ai offers special pricing for churches, and So-Young’s team is willing to help ministries with tight budgets find funding solutions.
Try It for Free
Ready to see it for yourself? You can get started for free with 200 AI credits—enough to build a full training program and see what’s possible. Just visit Gnowbe.ai and click the purple “Explore Gnowbe” button to start creating. You can also book a demo if you’d prefer a guided walkthrough.
And for those interested in learning more about volunteer-friendly streaming setups, don’t miss the upcoming webinar with Epiphan Video on April 22nd at 12 PM Eastern. You might even win a $450 video capture card! Register at webinar.streamingchurch.tv.
Subscribe to the Church Solutions Podcast on your favorite platform, and be sure to check out the video version of this episode to see So-Young’s screen share in action. Visit streamingchurch.tv/resources and scroll down to the podcast section.
Thanks for reading—and don’t forget to share this with someone at your church who’s ready to take training and discipleship to the next level.