Founded in 2016, Pray.com is the leading 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 organisations leveraged technology. “We work with the largest ministries and non-profits 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 localisation Pray.com envisioned simply wasn’t feasible. Many of Pray.com’s partners had built schools, churches, and humanitarian organisations 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 organisations 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 pivotal 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 first-hand 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 organisations 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 your message, one voice at a time
Since implementing HeyGen, Pray.com has been able to significantly expand what’s possible for its customers without increasing production costs or needing external support. 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 completed 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 rewarding 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 for 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 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.
