For years, building a custom assessment for your church meant hiring a developer or settling for a generic link that sent people off to someone else's website. AI has removed that barrier. Pastor Nathan Derenski of Rhythm Church in Cincinnati and Pastor Zach Morris of Essential Church in the Des Moines area aren't tech guys. They're church planters who took what was in their hearts for their people and built it with Claude. The part of our conversation I keep coming back to is what happens after someone gets their results.
Nathan said something that every pastor needs to hear: "People don't have a lack of desire to take a next step. They just don't know what next step to take."
The single mom who just gave her life to Jesus needs something different from the 60-year-old business leader who has followed Christ for 40 years. So Rhythm's assessment goes beyond spiritual gifts and personality. It asks about spiritual vibrancy (how often people read the Bible and worship) and their season of life. Then it points them to real next steps at Rhythm Church. Not a generic "join a small group," but an actual group on the calendar. Not baptized yet? Here's the next baptism. People get three or four options, like a menu board, and choose the one that fits.
Zach built his around a statement his church already says: you are essential. He wanted people to feel that, not just hear it. His assessment stacks three things. Spiritual gifts are the what. Personality is the how. Passion is the where.
Someone might have the gift of encouragement but a quieter personality, and a passion for kids. That person probably isn't going to fire up a room of adults, but they'll make every kid on Sunday feel seen and loved. Zach's assessment produces a five-page profile of who someone is, how they can be pastored in their current season, and where they fit on the team. So far, nearly everyone who reads theirs starts crying. They finally see what God put in them.
Neither of these guys started out with a technical background. What they did have was clarity. Nathan spent a lot of time teaching Claude how Rhythm thinks before asking it to build anything: brand guidelines, culture points, the church's own language. Zach gave it his org chart, every role description, and what people face in different seasons of life.
When I studied marketing, you learned quickly that a brand is only as strong as its guidelines. AI works the same way. If the foundation isn't right, you'll get frustrated with the output. Put in the time on the front end, and the tool starts to sound like your church.
Here's what I love most. Neither of them is using AI to get away from the work of ministry. They're using it to get closer to people.
Every result at Rhythm connects to a real person, whether that's a small group leader, a team leader, or a staff member, who follows up. Zach asks people to circle anything in their results that doesn't fit, then updates their profile. Before a one-on-one, he asks Claude what they talked about last time and what to follow up on. When someone steps off his launch team, it shows him who's ready to step in. Nathan is building his so people can retake it every year. If someone rated themselves a two and they're a five three years later, that's a spiritual step worth celebrating.
AI shouldn't write your sermons or send emails so you never have to touch people. Use it to go deeper with the people God has trusted you with. That's how you gain momentum, grow your church, and go the distance in ministry.
Rhythm Church plans to open its assessment to anyone at rhythm.church in January, timed with 21 days of prayer. Zach has already helped three churches start building their own, and he hopes to make his available to more churches down the road.
In the full conversation, we get into how they each got started with Claude, how they kept improving it through trial and error, and how they handle results that miss the mark. Watch it below, or listen on Apple Podcasts, Buzzsprout, or YouTube.
This episode is brought to you by YourTeam.church, the assessment app that helps you place every volunteer where they thrive. Your church gets its own branded link, and your people are matched to a team based on their spiritual gifts and personality, with a look at what life is actually like on that team. Try the Pro tier free for 30 days.
Keep believing and leading strong,
Josh Roberie
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