Pastors know the weekly grind: hours spent researching, outlining, and crafting a message that connects — all while managing the rest of ministry life. SermonSpark is an AI-powered sermon preparation assistant built to support church leaders through every phase of that process, from brainstorming on Monday morning to extending a sermon's reach well beyond Sunday.^1
Developed by Missional Marketing — a Christian marketing and software agency founded in 2008 that works with thousands of churches across the U.S. and Canada — SermonSpark launched in September 2023 and surpassed 3,000 users in under a year with zero advertising.^2 The platform organizes its tools into four categories: Research (Topic Explorer, verse finder, Greek and Hebrew word tools, quote finder), Writing (sermon outline generator, creative title ideas, illustrations and metaphors), Fun (trivia, Scripture rewriter, poem/song writer), and Reach (blog creator, group question generator, social media post ideas). A sermon transcription feature lets pastors upload audio or video and repurpose their message using the Reach tools.^1
In 2025, SermonSpark added brainstorming tools for early-stage sermon ideation and a personalization feature that tailors AI output to a pastor's denomination and preferred Bible translation — making it feel less like a generic AI chatbot and more like a ministry partner that understands a church's theological distinctives.^3 A Projects feature helps pastors organize all their tool results by week.^1
SermonSpark's team is intentional about positioning AI as a supplement, not a replacement, for the pastor's partnership with the Holy Spirit. As their site explains: "SermonSpark's tools are meant to support a pastor's typical sermon-writing process in the same way they consult commentaries, news stories, Google searches, or find sermon inspiration from a multitude of sources."^1
Why Christians Love It"I was skeptical about AI for sermons. Other AI tools hadn't given me quality content I could start from. SermonSpark was different. It helped me generate ideas and do research that better matched my sermon prep process." — Pastor Bart Blair, Bear Community Church^1
"From writing title ideas and searching for the verse I can't find to building an outline based on my theme for the lesson, SermonSpark has become my secret messaging weapon." — Tyler Snook, Youth Ministry Leader, Meadow Creek Church^1
"I have found it to be a tremendous time saver. I don't have the time to come up with the study questions on my own." — Noah Lawson, St. Alban's Anglican Church^1
Notable- Built by Missional Marketing (Scottsdale, AZ), whose group of companies includes AI for Churches and Church Communications^2
- Product led by David Thorne Ed.D. (now CEO of Missional Software); development led by Jason Collier; Missional Marketing CEO Jason Hamrock^5
- Grew to 3,000+ users organically, adding ~130 new users per week as of mid-2024^7
- Survey data shows 53% of users incorporate SermonSpark across all three phases of sermon prep (brainstorming, writing, and outreach)^7
- Featured at ComCon'25 (Church Communications Conference) as an AI tool that enhances rather than replaces authentic ministry^8
- Featured by Enable Ministry Partners as a recommended AI tool for sermon preparation^9
- Web-based platform — no native mobile app required
