Artificial intelligence feels woven into entrepreneurship right now, from caption tools to content planners, and Christian women in business use it every day. In an interview with Christian Daily International, YouVersion founder and CEO Bobby Gruenewald explains why current AI models misquote Scripture between 15 and 60 percent of the time and why he believes the technology is not ready to answer questions about God and the Bible.
As the head of a digital Bible platform with more than 1 billion downloads across its family of apps worldwide, Gruenewald has a rare vantage point on how churches, pastors, and everyday believers are turning to AI chatbots for spiritual answers. His caution lands directly in the world of Christian women entrepreneurs, many of whom build businesses that mix faith, teaching, and tech.
What the Christian Daily International interview says
In his Christian Daily International interview, Gruenewald shares that even the “best model with the best performance” working with widely indexed Bible versions misquotes Scripture at least 15 percent of the time, and some models misquote as much as 60 percent. Sometimes the errors look small, a comma moved here, a word swapped there, yet he points out that in Bible translation every word and punctuation mark carries meaning.
He explains that YouVersion already uses AI internally to accelerate coding and improve workflows, describing himself as an early adopter, but the organization has chosen not to launch a public‑facing chatbot that answers theological questions because of those accuracy gaps. Many users do not have Scripture memorized deeply enough to spot when a verse is slightly altered, so misquotes slip through.
For a Christian woman entrepreneur, especially one who shares devotionals, programs, or teaching rooted in Scripture, this lands close to home. When AI quietly tweaks a verse and you publish it under your name, your audience receives a distorted version of the text without realizing anything shifted. The spiritual weight still sits with you, even if the mistake started with a tool.
The wider church conversation you are stepping into
Gruenewald’s warning reflects a wider debate across the Christian world. In a 2023 analysis, Christianity Today describes AI systems producing confident yet inaccurate theological explanations and urges discernment when people use them for Bible study, noting that chatbots blend correct citations with subtle interpretive errors that create an illusion of authority.
At the same time, churches experiment with AI. Reporting from Axios Phoenix and coverage in The Week highlight congregations in the United States that draft sermons, create devotional materials, and run prayer apps where users “message with Jesus” or talk to chatbots that resemble God. Some pastors view these tools as creative outreach, others see a real risk of trivializing sacred texts or handing spiritual formation to systems that do not have discernment.
As a Christian woman entrepreneur, your business sits right in that overlap. You feel the pull toward tools that save time and help you serve more people, yet you hold a conviction that discipleship and Scripture are not production tasks. Gruenewald’s interview gives language to the tension and affirms your caution around AI.
Where AI serves your work and where it needs a boundary
Gruenewald does not frame YouVersion as anti‑AI. He tells Christian Daily International that the organization wants to be “a part of the solution and a part of the help,” and that they have challenged AI developers to improve how models handle Scripture. If those models reliably quote the Bible accurately, he is open to helping them gain access to trustworthy biblical texts.
Faith‑aligned technology firms work on guardrails as well. A Boulder feature from Axios looks at Gloo’s “Flourishing AI” tool, which evaluates large language models on how well they support human flourishing, including a faith dimension, for churches and ministries. Gloo’s own benchmark release lays out metrics for how AI aligns with Christian worldview and values, part of a push toward values‑shaped AI instead of leaving everything to general‑purpose systems.
Ministry leaders already use AI for tangible work. It analyzes data, drafts communications, supports administrative tasks, and helps scholars search biblical texts quickly, compare translations, and identify linguistic patterns. Those uses free pastors to spend more time in direct ministry. The same pattern works in your business, AI takes on repetitive work, outlines content, and surfaces research, while you keep the voice, discernment, and Scripture handling in your hands.
The problem starts when AI steps into the teacher role and answers big spiritual questions or generates doctrinal guidance inside your programs, content, or coaching. Gruenewald’s stance stays firm, he believes AI needs far higher accuracy and reliability before believers treat it as a source of spiritual authority.
What this means for Christian women entrepreneurs
YouVersion’s reach, with more than 1 billion downloads and integration into discipleship programs around the world, magnifies every AI decision they make. Gruenewald’s caution flows from that reality, any AI‑driven Scripture feature would influence how millions of people engage with the Bible, so fidelity outranks speed and novelty.
He urges believers to know the Bible themselves and seek guidance from trained pastors and leaders, emphasizing that technology assists, but does not replace human discipleship or careful study. For you, that becomes a simple rhythm, lean on AI for workflow support, outlines, and admin, then bring your own study, prayer, and pastoral input into anything that carries Scripture or spiritual direction in your business.
The debate around AI and faith will keep evolving as models improve and as more platforms test conversational features.
Some Christian technologists, like those behind Doxa’s engineering work on Scripture accuracy, are pursuing specialized, Scripture‑trained systems with word‑for‑word verification layers on top of language models. Until that level of rigor becomes standard in everyday tools, Christian women entrepreneurs can treat Gruenewald’s interview as an invitation to stay grounded, embrace helpful tech with discernment, and keep precision around God’s Word at the center.
Sources: Christian Daily International, Christianity Today, Axios Phoenix, The Week, Axios Boulder, Gloo, Doxa.
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