Founded in 2016, Pray.com is the No. 1 app for prayer and meditation, serving as a digital destination for faith.
Ryan Beck, CTO and Co-Founder of Pray.com, identified a clear gap in how faith-based organizations leveraged technology. “We work with the largest ministries and nonprofits across the globe to help them go digital and connect with new members online,” Ryan said.
From the start, Pray.com’s vision was to bring modern tools to an industry that has historically lagged behind in digital adoption. That vision quickly evolved into a focus on artificial intelligence (AI). “When large language models and diffusion models emerged, we knew we had to adopt them for our ministry and nonprofit partners so they could amplify their message and impact,” Ryan said. That’s when Pray.com turned to HeyGen.
Making the impossible possible with AI video
Before adopting HeyGen, the level of translation and localization Pray.com envisioned simply wasn’t feasible. Many of Pray.com’s partners had built schools, churches, and humanitarian organizations in regions where English wasn’t spoken. These founders had never been able to communicate directly with local members in their native language.
“It wasn’t just a challenge; it was impossible,” Ryan said. “These organizations didn’t have the tools or the budget to translate thousands of videos across languages and regions.”
HeyGen didn’t just streamline the process. It opened a door that had been closed. “With AI translations, they can now speak to their communities around the world without relying on a translator,” Ryan explained. “That’s never been possible before.”
One transformative moment came during an internal hackathon. A teammate in Argentina submitted a demo video that used HeyGen’s AI translation technology to feature one of Pray.com’s ministry partners—a 75-year-old Texan—speaking fluent Spanish. “He doesn’t speak a word of Spanish, but it sounded exactly like him,” Ryan recalled. “We sent it to him and he was blown away.”
That moment sparked a shift. “It was a magic moment not just for us, but for our customers. They saw firsthand what AI could do for their mission.”
HeyGen’s translation tools became a core part of Pray.com’s offering. One pastor used it to send a sermon translated into Tagalog to his wife’s cousin in the Philippines, who had never heard him preach before. “He broke down in tears,” Ryan said. “It was a transformative experience for both of them.”
For Ryan, these stories are more than anecdotes. They’re proof that HeyGen is bridging gaps culturally, linguistically, and emotionally. “These organizations are doing real work: food drives, business literacy, orphanages. With HeyGen, their founders can speak directly to the people they’re impacting. That kind of connection just wasn’t possible before.”
Scaling the message, one voice at a time
Since implementing HeyGen, Pray.com has been able to dramatically expand what’s possible for its customers without increasing production costs or requiring outside help. Key results include:
- Global reach: Thousands of faith-based videos are now translated into 8–30 languages in minutes, not months.
- Content efficiency: What once took weeks can now be accomplished in hours, enabling leaders to scale their voice without compromising authenticity.
- Emotional impact: Video messages now retain the speaker’s emotion, cadence, and tone even in a completely different language.
Ryan sees this as just the beginning. “We’ve gone from audio to full video translations. Not only do the avatars move in sync, but they retain the emotion and natural rhythm. It’s not a clunky dub. It feels real.”
For him, the most fulfilling part is hearing ministry leaders say, “I made this.” “That’s what HeyGen enables,” he said. “A founder can look at thousands of translated videos and say, ‘I made that.’ That’s pretty remarkable.”
His advice to those just getting started with AI video? “There are no more borders—physical or language-based. If you’re a content creator, your audience just grew by a thousandfold.”
With HeyGen, Pray.com is not just keeping pace with innovation; they’re leading a movement that makes faith more accessible, inclusive, and impactful on a global scale.
