Faithful Futures:
Guiding AI with Wisdom and Witness

September 2-5, 2025
Minneapolis, MN

Introduction

All are warmly invited to register and participate in Faithful Futures through our robust online experience, designed for full engagement across time zones and contexts. While the in-person gathering in Minneapolis is limited to invited participants in order to support focused cohort work and collaboration, the virtual platform offers wide access to keynotes, scenario planning, and cohort reflections—ensuring that voices from across the Church can help shape our shared response to the challenges and opportunities of AI.

Practical Theology

This conference follows the practical theology framework developed by Richard Osmer, which offers a structured, reflective approach to faithful action. Osmer’s model involves four key questions:

• What is going on? (descriptive-empirical), 
• Why is it happening? (interpretive), 
• What ought to be happening? (normative),
• How might we respond? (pragmatic). 

Each day of the conference is shaped around one of these tasks, guiding participants from observation and theological interpretation to future visioning and faithful action in response to artificial intelligence. This framework ensures that our work remains grounded in both practical realities and theological integrity.

Online Participant Experience

Online participants are an integral part of Faithful Futures. All keynote sessions will be livestreamed and accessible in real time, with options for asynchronous viewing across time zones. On Thursday, online attendees will be invited into a live, interactive scenario planning session led by Jane McGonigal, supported by an AI collaboration tool designed to capture and synthesize group insights (Miro + AI). We’ll also be using Wordly.ai to provide simultaneous translation into dozens of languages, making the experience accessible to a global audience. In addition, online participants can join a designated digital cohort space to reflect, contribute, and access curated resources. While the format is flexible, the goal is full engagement—ensuring that voices beyond the room help shape the Church’s faithful response to AI.

2025 Conference Website