I, Missionary

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I, Missionary

Reimagining Missions in an AI World

Billy Coppedge

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Publication Date: August 18, 2026

Robotic church planters? AI-driven missionary strategies? Avatar-based member care?

I, Missionary is a collection of hypothetical short stories that explores some of the questions the global church is facing with the rapid rise of AI. Mission organizations, churches, and individuals are all trying to come to grips with these new technological realities—both the potential blessings and curses. But none of us have walked this road before. We need fresh language, examples, and categories.

This book follows one fictional mission organization that is grappling with the complexity and seeming inevitability of technological advances. Decisions about AI-enabled tools raise questions such as: What can technology accomplish and where are its limits? What is the role of the Holy Spirit? And what does it mean to be human in a world where machines can imitate discipleship and relationships? While these questions don’t have easy answers, the church needs to be asking them today as we seek to make disciples of tomorrow.

Endorsements

In I, Missionary, Billy Coppedge offers the church something rare and necessary for this AI moment: not answers, but clarity. Through compelling narrative, he helps us see before telling us what to think, surfacing the deeper questions emerging at the intersection of technology, mission, and theological formation.

This is not a book about resisting AI, nor is it an uncritical embrace. It is a call to discernment. As the pace of innovation accelerates, Coppedge gently and firmly re-centers us on what must not be lost: the incarnation, embodied presence, and Spirit-led wisdom. In a world increasingly shaped by abstraction and efficiency, he reminds us that God’s mission has always moved through people, relationships, and lived faith.

There is an urgency in these pages. What are we becoming as we embrace the tools we are building? And how will the church remain faithful in the midst of it? This book lingers. And if we are attentive, it may reshape how we think about mission in the age of AI.

Samuel E. ChiangSpecial Advisor to the Secretary General, World Evangelical Alliance, Ambassador, Global Pastoral Training Alliance
In I, Missionary, Billy Coppedge provides a powerfully disruptive method for approaching the impact of AI on the practice of ministry and mission. Using an engaging narrative approach, Coppedge demonstrates, with more effectiveness than many much longer treatises about AI, the real-world power of a theology of embodiment in an increasingly AI-driven world.

Timothy C. Tennent, PhDMethodist Chair of Divinity, Missions and World Christianity, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University
Here is a fictional sci-fi type of book about a plausible AI future in missions that will immediately grab the reader’s wonder. Masterfully packed in short stories, the author forces one to think about the surreal (but maybe not unreal?) possible practical applications of AI to missions. Is the day coming when, among other AI helps, there will be avatars and bots in mission home offices and on the field? These almost unbelievable future possibilities are masterfully presented in narrative form, lending credence to futuristic possibilities that many today would consider unimaginable.

Marvin J. NewellAuthor, Taking You Under My Skin: A Novel about Love, War and the Unreached, Ambassador at Large, Missio Nexus
Billy Coppedge’s I, Missionary kept me turning the pages with its vivid storytelling and twists. More importantly, it raised difficult questions—questions the author wisely leaves unanswered. Instead, Coppedge opens the door to a vital conversation that those of us in the missions world need to engage in—sooner rather than later and together, as these issues require the wisdom of the whole church.

Mark LanderholmMissionary and Area Team Leader in Central Europe
Billy Coppedge offers a creative and timely exploration of one of the most pressing questions facing the church in the years ahead: What does it mean to be human? Through a series of imaginative narratives, I, Missionary provocatively invites readers to consider how developments in artificial intelligence may intersect with the practice and theology of Christian mission. Rather than offering simple answers, Coppedge brings forward a set of questions that deserve thoughtful discussion among missionaries, theologians, and church leaders alike. It is the best kind of book—engaging to read while also prompting serious reflection—opening space for the global church to consider how faithful witness may unfold in a changing technological landscape. 

Matthew Niermann, PhDDirector of Global Research, Lausanne Movement, Professor, California Baptist University
Our generation is witnessing something very rare: a revolution that only occurs every few centuries—a seismic technological change that irrevocably affects every aspect of society. The internet was just the start; AI, robotics, and the quest for the “singularity” provoke ethical questions that, until recently, were the sole preserve of imaginative sci-fi nerds. Now they are becoming mainstream and urgent. And they are guaranteed to shape church life in all kinds of unprecedented and unimaginable ways. 

But we are so slow on the uptake! We need thinkers like Billy Coppedge to help us catch up and get real. These brand-new challenges demand both theological rootedness and creative ingenuity—and Billy’s unique book offers both. His startling use of the short story form shakes us out of any complacency and provokes serious engagement. Few know how all this will pan out in the end. But this book is one of the best means out there that I’ve come across to get us onto the starting grid.

Mark MeynellWriter, Teacher, Cross-Cultural Minister, Director (European and Caribbean) for Langham Preaching (2014-2021)
Billy Coppedge is a gifted storyteller and a respected voice in biblical orality, and I’ve personally benefited from his passion for equipping others. In I, Missionary, he uses the power of short stories to challenge the church to think deeply about AI, mission, theology, and the enduring dignity of embodied human communication. I highly recommend this engaging read, full of suspense and twists that keep the reader involved and asking healthy questions about the future of missions and evangelism.

Dr. Ben Roberts (MD)Medical Missionary (East Africa)
I, Missionary is the book the church needs right now. In a world enamoured by AI and captivated by the disembodied technologies of our future, this book presents provocative and insightful stories that offer valuable perspectives and practical wisdom for thinkers today. Dr. Billy Coppedge has spent decades living out the belief that God transforms hearts through the power of shared stories and an embodied presence. From the villages of East Africa to ancient towns in the Middle East, his commitment to oral strategies and missions to the unreached led him to serve as catalyst for orality in the global Lausanne movement.

The narratives in this book speak directly to the profound theological and ethical questions we need answered before we upload our lives to soulless technology. Like never before, Christians need these stories to shape us before we let secular tech exploit our hearts for profit.

A comfortable read, Coppedge’s book provides the space we need to navigate the uncharted waters of AI without losing our souls. This book is a prophetic invitation for the church to lead with wisdom, caution, and a steadfast commitment to the power and beauty of human connection.  AI is not a threat to the Great Commission, but as its influence expands into every sphere of life, this work becomes vital reading for those committed to the necessity of getting the gospel to every heart in this new digital age.

Mark Overstreet, PhDOrality Catalyst, The Lausanne Movement, Executive Director, SRV