As artificial intelligence rapidly enters the church technology landscape, ACST is introducing a fundamentally different approach: AI built specifically for ministry environments, church operations, and congregational data stewardship.
Today, ACST announced the launch of Ministry Platform AI, a new AI integration designed for churches using Ministry Platform. Built on the open Model Context Protocol (MCP) standard, the integration allows church staff to securely interact with Ministry Platform data using plain-English questions — eliminating many manual reporting and administrative tasks while enabling connectivity across AI tools that support MCP.
Unlike generic AI tools, Ministry Platform AI works across the full Ministry Platform schema, including giving, attendance, groups, engagement, pastoral care, events, and custom tables.
“What we heard from churches was clear: they want the benefits of AI, but they do not want to compromise trust, stewardship, or congregational privacy to get there,” said Joe Koehling, CEO of ACST. “We built Ministry Platform AI specifically for the realities of ministry — not by retrofitting a consumer AI tool for church use.”
The launch comes at a time when many churches are experimenting with public AI platforms without fully understanding how sensitive ministry data may be retained or used.
According to ACST, congregation data queried through Ministry Platform AI is retrieved live, securely returned, and not stored or used to train AI models.
The platform also includes:
- Data response inspection
- Role-based permissions
- Audit trails
- Table-level controls
- Full Ministry Platform schema awareness
To support the launch, ACST is opening a limited Pioneer Program for the first 50 churches. Pioneer churches will receive early access to new features, dedicated onboarding support, and direct collaboration with the founding team.
Most churches can complete setup in under 30 minutes using existing Ministry Platform API credentials.
For more information, please contact media@vanco.com.
About ACST
ACST is a leading provider of church technology solutions serving nearly 50,000 churches, dioceses, schools, and faith-based organizations. Through trusted platforms including Realm and Ministry Platform, ACST helps ministries strengthen engagement, stewardship, operations, and communication through one connected ecosystem. By combining practical technology with ministry-centered support, ACST helps churches spend less time managing systems and more time focused on people and mission.
ACST operates as the faith business of Vanco, a leading provider of payments and software solutions for faith communities, schools, and nonprofits.
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