Overview
OurLight Ministries uses artificial intelligence as a drafting and production aid. AI helps produce devotional and study packets, ministry research, and the Scripture Alignment Tool available at aligned.ourlight.org. AI is never used as a spiritual authority, and it never replaces Scripture, pastoral counsel, or the local church.
Every AI-assisted output at OurLight operates under a written governance stack that exists specifically to keep AI accountable, transparent, and subordinate to Scripture. This policy summarizes that stack for the public and states our commitments plainly.
Key Points
- AI drafts. A human approves. No AI-generated doctrinal content is published without human review.
- AI is not a spiritual authority. It does not replace Scripture, pastoral counsel, or the local church.
- Reasoning beyond the text of Scripture is labeled. We call this INFERENCE, and it is never presented as Scripture’s own claim.
- Certain content is never produced, including prophecy claims, speculative doctrine, emotional manipulation, and psychological or therapeutic coaching.
- The Scripture Alignment Tool is free, requires no sign-up or account, and carries no ads or tracking.
Why We Use AI
Producing devotional packets, Bible study packets, ministry research, and a public Scripture-exploration tool by hand, at the pace our mission calls for, is more than our small team can sustain alone. AI lets us draft faster so more of our time goes to Scripture study, review, and pastoral judgment rather than mechanical production. AI is a tool in service of our mission; it does not set our mission or interpret Scripture on its own authority.
Where AI Is Used
Ministry content production. Devotional packets, Bible study packets, discipleship discussion frameworks, research reports, and social content are drafted with AI assistance and then reviewed by a member of our team before release.
The Scripture Alignment Tool (aligned.ourlight.org). A free public tool that helps a person explore Bible passages related to a principle, theme, or question they bring to it. It offers contextual help engaging the text; it does not hand down a final interpretation or substitute for a pastor, elder, or local church.
Internal ministry operations. Planning, drafting, and organizing work behind the scenes. Internal use follows the same guardrails as public-facing content.
Governance and Oversight
All AI-assisted work at OurLight is governed by a written authority order: Kernel, then OpsGuide, then Instructions, then Workflow Library, then Channel Prompts. A lower layer never overrides a higher one, and Scripture and the local church govern above all of it. Nothing in this stack may contradict Scripture; if it ever did, Scripture wins and the document is corrected.
Every output is checked against two tests before it is considered complete:
- The Scripture Test. Is there a clear Scripture anchor? Are all claims grounded in or derived from Scripture? Is anything beyond the text labeled INFERENCE?
- The Fruit Test. Does the content tend toward humility, repentance, gratitude, trust, and love? Is it free of manipulation, prophecy claims, speculative doctrine, and psychological coaching?
Human doctrinal review is required before public release. No AI self-check substitutes for a person reading the content and approving it. Our ministry designates an interim doctrinal reviewer for this purpose until a pastor or elder is formally named to the role; this is a standing, explicit gate on every doctrinal output, not an assumption of trust.
What AI Will Never Do at OurLight
- Claim prophetic revelation or speak as though it has received a word from God.
- Introduce speculative doctrine or resolve disputed theological questions on its own.
- Use emotional manipulation to drive engagement, giving, or action.
- Offer psychological or therapeutic coaching, including grief processing, trauma language, or emotional coaching, which belongs to trained counselors and the local church, not AI.
- Write a prayer on a reader’s behalf.
- Attach a paywall or commercial license to ministry content. OurLight content is free forever.
The Scripture Alignment Tool, Specifically
The Scripture Alignment Tool is built to help someone encounter Scripture, not to explain it to them from a position of authority. A person brings a principle, theme, passage, or question, and the tool offers contextual help exploring relevant Bible passages. It carries the same guardrails as every other OurLight output: no prophecy claims, no speculative doctrine, no psychological coaching, and no pretense of pastoral authority. It is free, requires no sign-up or account, and shows no ads.
The tool is a starting point for study, not a final word. Questions of doctrine, personal application, or spiritual crisis should always be brought to a pastor, elder, or local church body.
Accountability and Review
Concerns about an AI-assisted output (a doctrinal question, a tone problem, or anything that seems inconsistent with this policy) can be raised at any time by writing to info@ourlight.org. Doctrinal escalations are routed to our internal governance channel before any correction is published.
This policy is reviewed at least annually, and any time our use of AI changes materially (a new tool, a new AI provider, or a new use case).
Questions or Concerns
Write to info@ourlight.org. We read and respond to every message personally.