Apostle Stephen is an AI religious assistant offered by the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), a Nigerian-founded Pentecostal denomination, for biblical guidance, prayer support and evangelism. The church presents it as an “Intelligent Virtual Apostle” and “Digital Missionary.”[1] In an interaction reported by Coventry University researcher Adam J. Fenton, the chatbot responded to a parish inquiry by offering conversion steps and leading a salvation prayer.[2,4]
Documented evangelistic interaction
A November 2025 report by Fenton and Chris Shannahan preserves a prayer excerpt and the accompanying invitation to provide contact details for continued support.[2] The exchange brings together a parish inquiry, an invitation to religious commitment and an attempt to establish further contact with the denomination.
Institutional setting and functions
RCCG’s undated explanatory page dates the launch to February 2025 and says the assistant was adapted to RCCG beliefs and the teachings of its General Overseer, E. A. Adeboye.[1] Its public presence is independently documented in a TechCabal article of 5 September 2025, which included a screenshot and reported its missionary greeting.[3]
The church advertises scripture explanation, sermon preparation, devotional assistance and prayer support, alongside help finding parishes, contacting pastors and navigating donation channels.[1] These functions place the chatbot within an existing church’s teaching and outreach activity. Its religious persona addresses visitors directly and is presented as a route to the denomination’s resources and human community.
Reception and limits
TechCabal situated Apostle Stephen among Nigerian church-oriented AI projects. Its reporting also quoted evangelist and AI consultant Rotimi Awaye’s concerns about spiritually authoritative chatbot names and reliance on generated religious answers.[3]
The available sources do not establish a verified model version, complete source corpus or process for reviewing individual responses. The reported encounter does not demonstrate conversion, church membership or completed pastoral follow-up, and cannot establish typical behavior across users. “Apostle” identifies the presented persona, without establishing ordination or independent religious authority.[1–4]
References
- Redeemed Christian Church of God. “Learn More About Stephen.” Undated; retrospective launch account. Accessed 11 October 2026. Open source
- Fenton, Adam J., and Chris Shannahan. AI and Religion: Critical Review of Literature Report. Coventry University Centre for Peace and Security, November 2025. Printed p. 35; chatbot reference dated 7 October 2025 on p. 51. Manchester-hosted 53-page version, DocID 78427. Open source
- Goodman, Fancy, and Ifeoluwa Aigbiniode. “AI is even closer to the devil’s box, but churches are open to it.” TechCabal, 5 September 2025. Open source
- Fenton, Adam James, and Chris Shannahan. “When AI speaks in the name of God.” Asia Times, 1 June 2026; republished from The Conversation. Open source
Source note: References 2 and 4 belong to the same research lineage. The commentary and its republications are not independent replications of the reported interaction.