MORE THAN A PILOT

Mr Jesus opens a door, as a chance to gather, share a joyful, thought-provoking experience, and collectively imagine into the future we fear, as well as into the one we really want.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Tech leaders are increasingly framing AI in religious terms, describing its capabilities as "god-like" and dismissing ethical scrutiny as "anti-christ" thinking. Meanwhile, faith communities are grappling in real time with declining attendance, pandemic-era technology adoption, and the slow erosion of embodied communal life.

Religious institutions have historically been among the most trusted stewards of questions about human dignity, purpose, and collective values, the very questions AI forces us to confront. And yet, they are almost entirely absent from the conversations shaping how this technology is built and governed.

Group of people laughing on stage, with two individuals standing in the foreground and others seated in the background.

The PROJECT

Beginning February 2026, (m)otherboard, a tech justice collective, is using Mr Jesus to launch a nationwide series of community screenings and facilitated conversations inside faith communities, theological schools, film festivals, and civic spaces. Our discussion guide — developed in partnership with Iliff School of Theology Professor Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi and Pastor Matt Laney — moves audiences from emotional response to theological inquiry to collective agency: What do we value? Who holds power over this technology? And what are we going to do about it?

This effort moves away from lecture series and panels of experts. We are creating spaces for communities to build their own frameworks, their own language, and ultimately their own moral authority to act as citizens in the development and deployment of technology that impacts their daily life in ways both seen and unseen.

WHY THIS WORKS

People sitting in an audience, smiling and clapping, at a presentation or event in an indoor setting.

  • Our first community event at Virginia Highlands Church in Atlanta — an improv comedy night called Humans Rool, AI Drools — drew 50+ congregation members alongside filmmakers and community leaders. What started as a fundraiser became a proof of concept: humor creates the conditions for honest conversation about our deepest fears.

  • (m)otherboard Co-Founder Emily Best used the same community screening strategy with the documentary Ratified — a $46K crowdfunding campaign that generated 75+ community screenings and led to national distribution on PBS. Mr Jesus has already raised over $34,000 from 250+ backers across 20+ states, building a ready network of invested hosts.

  • (m)otherboard sits at the intersection of three communities that rarely share a room: independent film, responsible technology, and faith. Co-Founder Aden Van Noppen was a resident fellow at Harvard Divinity School, where she founded Mobius — a network of faith leaders, meditation teachers, and neuroscientists who advised major tech companies on the human impact of their products. Our academic and clergy partnerships span UCC, UMC, and DOC networks, Iliff School of Theology, and reach into Harvard Divinity, MIT, and UC Berkeley. Our film network reaches every U.S. state through 100+ annual festival events.

A group of people seated in a large circle in a dimly lit room, participating in a discussion or meeting.
A man in a gray shirt and beige pants speaking and raising his hand in a group discussion or meeting, with four other people seated around him, in a room with a blackboard and a note sheet in the background.
People sitting in chairs in a circle attending a community screening of Mr Jeses, some holding papers or drinks, focused and listening attentively.

THE PLAN

FEBRUARY 2026 - Inaugural screening and conversation took place at Virginia Highlands Church, Atlanta. Curriculum testing begins.

MARCH 2026 - Community screenings expand; technology-sector convening with Chief Product Officers and AI leaders.

APRIL 2026 - Mr Jesus and the discussion guide launch on Kinema, timed with Easter and a feature in Mozilla Foundation's publication, Nothing Personal. Promotional codes enable faith communities to host free screenings.

MAY THROUGH DECEMBER 2026 - 20+ film festival screenings across the U.S. and Europe with talk-backs; 20+ community and institutional events; ongoing Kinema-hosted screenings. Coalition development with faith institutions, academic ethics centers, and responsible technology organizations.

JANUARY 2027 - Galvanizing convening at Sundance Film Festival: synthesizing a year of national conversation into a shared agenda for tech-justice action.

THE GOAL:

40 - 60 TOTAL CONVERSATIONS

Across film festivals, faith institutions, and community spaces.

OUR PARTNERS

(m)otherboard

Mozilla Foundation

Popshift

Iliff School of Theology

Virginia Highlands Church (Atlanta)

People sitting in chairs at the Mr Jesus community screening, engaged in a discussion in a room with blackboards or posters on the wall.
A woman with glasses and a jacket is speaking and gesturing with her hands during a discussion or meeting, surrounded by several seated people in a dimly lit room.

WHAT WE ARE ASKING FOR

Silhouettes of three people standing inside a building with large windows, overlooking a city skyline with tall buildings and a partly cloudy sky.

FUNDERS

Funders make it possible to offer free screenings to faith communities, support co-facilitation by our team, and sustain the curriculum development and coalition-building work across a full year of programming.

Front view of Virginia Highland Church with brick facade, white columns, triangular pediment, and steeple against a partly cloudy sky, surrounded by green trees.

CONVERSATION HOSTS

Congregations, theological schools, festivals, civic organizations — bring their community to the table and help us understand what moral leadership on AI looks like across regions, traditions, and contexts.

HOST A SCREENING