Best Software for Church Presentation

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Church presentation software helps churches engage with their congregation during services. The software solution enables congregation participation during a church service by making song lyrics, video, PowerPoint, Keynote, sermon notes, Bible scripture, and information visible on large screens

But what is the best church presentation software in 2022? Whether projecting video files, sermon notes, PowerPoint from a Windows PC, or Keynote from a Mac OS, check out our pick of the best cross-platform solutions allowing Linux or operating system agnostic support in our list below. We’ve included some free church presentation software along with open-source and Android remote app options and paid options with ease of use, top of mind in our selection.

best free church presentation software 2020    Using quality and reliable software is crucial for a successful church presentation. Usually, you can pick any free church presentation software and it will do the job for you. However, some products are far better than others when it comes to effectiveness. We have analyzed the market and created a list of the top 10 best free church presentation software 2020, so you can spot them right away!

Why use church presentation software?

Church presentation software helps to make your church service accessible to the whole congregation. With a dynamic presentation displaying lyrics and scripture, the congregation can join in together. 

Here’s why you should consider using the software for your church:

  • Enables congregation participation during worship 

In the past, song sheets or songbooks were the norms, but church presentation software makes them obsolete. When song lyrics get projected onto a big screen or screens, the whole congregation can easily read the song and sing along without getting lost. It makes the service accessible to everyone, to the same extent, without having prior knowledge of the song.

  • Provides the congregation with quick (and multilingual) access to scripture 

Many people don’t want to carry a Bible with them, as they’ll use their phone instead. But using church presentation software for sharing scripture references means your congregation doesn’t get distracted while they start looking up Bible verses! What’s more, some solutions have multilingual functionality and can simultaneously display scripture in multiple languages, which can be great for multilingual congregations.

  • Provides easy access to important information

Church presentation software enables you to share your church notices and announcements either passively before and after the service or together with verbal announcements.

Church presentation software functionality

Many church presentation software packages include feature-rich functionality for the needs of churches to allow seamless church presentations:

  • Presentation streaming for worship services
  • Scripture database to display bible verses 
  • Video file playing from worship software
  • Custom slides to allow a slideshow of notices or information
  • Slide integration from Windows or Mac PowerPoint, Mac Keynote, or Google Slides
  • Layout management and customizable slide layouts
  • Multi-Screen display support
  • Multilingual Bible and Bible translation support
  • Drag and drop presentation tools
  • Media library to allow playlist support including Spotify, YouTube or VLC 
  • CCLI SongSelect (Christian Copyright Licensing International) usage tracking
  • Remote control (often within a functionality for the preacher to 
  • Countdown for the service to begin
  • Stage display or stage view preview

It’s also worth considering plugins for other church management software support, as many, like Planning Center, offer support and integrations.

Here’s a brief description of each of the church presentation software on my list, showing what it does best, plus screenshots to showcase some of the features.

1. OpenLP

One of the most popular open source worship presentation program out there, OpenLP packs a ton of features for managing and displaying songs, Bible verses, images, videos (not video backgrounds though) and more.

It facilitates custom alerts, Bible import through CSV files, CCLI/SongSelect integration, PowerPoint file import etc.

Managing worship songs

  • OpenLP can import songs from a wide variety of sources like Easyslides, Opensong, Videopsalm, Zionworx, DreamBeam, MediaShout etc.
  • You can tag verse types, preset verse sequence, add formatting and manage songwriter information
  • A quick song search is also available

Managing Bible verses

  • Bibles can be imported from OSIS by the CrossWire Bible Society, any CSV file, OpenSong, Zefania etc.
  • You can even download a few selected verses from a Bible site, display verses in many custom formats, easily search verses by scripture reference (e.g. John 3:16-17) or by a search phrase to add into your set list

Media

  • OpenLP integrates with one of the most popular open source media player of our times: VLC!
  • This means you can use almost any video / audio file format in OpenLP that is compatible with VLC
  • Slides and templates
  • OpenLP can be used to set up custom liturgies/set lists as per your church’s needs
  • Announcements, alerts or custom slides are also possible—custom slides can also be looped if required
  • OpenLP also integrates with PowerPoint, PowerPoint Viewer, LibreOffice Impress on Windows and LibreOffice Impress on Linux/FreeBSD. Imported presentations (sermon slides for example) can be controlled from inside OpenLP
  • Support for video background is under development. However, you can use a transparent theme as a workaround for now until this feature rolls out

Extra cool features

  • OpenLP also has a FREE Android remote app to control the presentation from anywhere inside your church using an Android device—as far as I know, this is a first of its kind app!
  • Built-in stage view accessible from any device with a web browser. Use any device on the local network as your stage monitor, meaning unlimited stage monitors without any extra hardware constraints.
  • Ability to add backing tracks to songs

Platforms

  • OpenLP is available for Windows, Linux, Mac or FreeBSD

OpenLP is a fantastic option for anyone looking for a free and feature-packed church presentation software.

2. OpenSong

If you need a super simple, free and easy worship presentation software, then look no further than OpenSong.

It may not have all kinds of bells and whistles when it comes to features, but it does just enough to meet the most important church projection software requirements.

Managing worship songs

  • OpenSong can easily double up as a worship song management tool—you can type in songs yourself or import them from CCLI’s SongSelect
  • Or you can always go to any site providing lyrics and chords for worship songs and just copy paste from there
  • Songs can be stored with chords, which of course won’t appear in presented slides. There’s a quick song transpose option also if you want to practice a song in a different key—it’s extremely convenient for musicians
  • OpenSong also provides many free song packs in various languages to help get you started

Managing Bible verses

  • OpenSong’s website hosts a wide variety of Bibles that you can download for free and import into your system.
  • Zefania XML Bibles, NRSV, NIV, KJV and more are available and supported for import apart from Bibles in other languages (French, Filipino, Portuguese, German etc.)

Media

  • Any image file can be set as a background for songs and Bible verses
  • Fonts, colors etc. can be custom formatted separately for song slides, scripture slides and alerts
  • While video backgrounds are not natively supported, it’s not completely impossible either if you can learn this workaround

Slides and templates

  • With OpenSong, you can present songs, Bible verses and alerts specifying the order of slides, such as verse 1, then chorus, then verse 2, then bridge, then chorus again and so on
  • You can also present a preset timed loop of defined slides, create custom set lists in just a few minutes, search and find any Bible verse or song in seconds.

Platforms

  • OpenSong can be installed on Windows, Mac and Linux machines.

OpenSong is great for anyone switching from PowerPoint—its simplicity and ease-of-use (I’ve taught people to use it in like 10-15 minutes flat!) make it a standout option!

3. Holyrics

Holyrics is a free Church presentation software developed with the objective of facilitating the presentation of lyrics and verses in worship and other events.

Managing worship songs

  • Save song lyrics and use custom themes to display.
  • Search and add a song quickly using the available search options.
  • Holyrics has an offline database with more than 15 thousand songs! 
  • We can separate the song lyrics of different groups or singers using groups
  • Allows to save the time and date of each song played


Managing Bible verses

  • Supports display of Bible verses and transmission to other devices
  • Facilitates access to any Bible verse with just 3 clicks
  • Can save lists of favorite verses to bring them up quickly
  • Visualize the Bible in different versions simultaneously
  • Change the version of the verse on the fly in real time


Media

  • Has stage view support—we can use return monitors with unique settings. Slides can also be customized for the Holyrics app
  • Show messages and alerts only on return monitors
  • Colors, images or videos as background with opacity control
  • Can show alert messages at any time, even during a presentation


Slides and templates

  • Create various themes and use in any song lyrics and verse
  • Schedule the songs that will be played and the media that will be performed in each service


Extra cool features

  • Access program data and control presentations by mobile through the Holyrics mobile app
  • We can register our worship team members in the system and create schedules for the services
  • Play audio and video through the program without dragging windows (needs VLC media player to work)
  • Use videos to create Themes with animated background
  • Mobile app can be used to remote control presentations of songs and verses
  • Clock
  • Countdown


Platforms

  • Windows, Mac and Linux machines
  • The mobile app is available for Android and iOS

Holyrics is a well-designed free church presentation software with excellent features and functionalities—highly recommend you to try it out!

4. FreeWorship

FreeWorship can be used to display worship songs, Bible passages, videos and more.

This church worship software supports themes, slide transitions, quick search, import of a variety of lyrics and Bibles etc.

FreeWorship is a solid free worship software that should cover most of your church presentation needs.

Managing worship songs

  • For quick setup, worship songs can be imported many, many sources!
  • FreeWorship accepts songs from CCLI SongSelect, Easy Worship (2009 & 6), DreamBeam, Mission Praise, OpenLP, OpenLyrics, OpenSong, SongPro, SongShow Plus and Words of Worship
  • So if you’re switching from some other software, FreeWorship makes it incredibly easy to migrate your existing song base in no time

Managing Bible verses

  • FreeWorship can import Zefania and OpenSong Bibles, which should take care of most of your scripture projection needs.

Media

  • All popular image formats can be handled in FreeWorship
  • Like OpenLP, FreeWorship also integrates with VLC for video playback—so any file format supported by VLC can be run here!
  • This free presentation software also handles PowerPoint files (versions 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016)
  • The presentation slides can also be spanned across multiple projectors.

Slides and templates

  • Songs, bible passages, images, videos, PPTs, webcams, clocks and timers can all be setup to display on screen just a few minutes
  • There are flexible slide customization options too with the ability to tinker with the fonts, colors and backgrounds

Extra cool features

  • There’s a really cool auto verse feature, using which FreeWorship finds a related Bible verse when you search for a song!
  • Stage/foldback display to give your worship team and speakers on stage more information about the current slide and what is coming up next
  • You can use a file synching service like Dropbox to edit songs on one PC while presenting on another

Platforms

  • FreeWorship is Windows only at the moment

FreeWorship is feature-rich, provides terrific import options and flexible enough to fulfill even demanding church presentation needs—this is a keeper!

5. EasySlides

EasiSlides is a free worship song projection software designed for projecting lyrics and Bible texts—basically, it’s designed for church worship.

With over 80,000 downloads and counting, EasySlides is a very popular option for anyone looking for free church presentation software.

Managing worship songs

  • EasiSlides installer (version 4 onwards) comes with built-in worship song lyric databases from the public domain in multiple languages apart from English
  • If you want to migrate your existing song base from another church presentation program, you’re out of luck though—you’ll have to recreate your worship song data all over again
  • Similar to OpenSong, worship song lyrics can also be stored with chords

Managing Bible verses

  • Bible versions are limited as there’s no native ability to import Bibles from third party sources
  • However, EasySlides offers 3 English translations and a few more in other languages. Plus, there is a third party tool to convert Bibles from Unbound and XML versions into a format that can be imported and used in EasySlides

Media

  • EasySlide shines in media playback—it can play audio and video files including live video backgrounds through feeds from an attached camcorder
  • The usual features to edit slide backgrounds, add gradients or usage of custom images are also available

Slides and templates
There’s another third party transfer tool to work on one machine and then migrate the presentation including the underlying files to the church computer that will be used for the actual projection.
Extra cool features

  • Project lyrics in two different languages at the same time for multi-lingual services
  • Generate worship song books to print customized praise and worship song books
  • HTML Generator to output all the necessary files to publish worship song lyrics on your church website

Platforms

  • EasySlides is Windows only at the moment

EasySlides is an actively developed software with a huge user base—its ample set of features is sure to satisfy worship teams and Church tech enthusiasts.

6. Quelea

Quelea is an open source church projection software with a nice set of features to serve your church presentation needs.

Quelea’s stated aim is to “incorporate the best features of existing solutions as well as leveraging new, useful technologies that existing solutions don’t have—providing it all under a free, open source license.”

Managing worship songs

  • In terms of importing existing worship songs from other software, Quelea stands tall with the best of them.
  • Worship songs can be imported from just about anywhere—OpenSong, OpenLP, ZionWorx, Sunday Plus, Kingsway Online, EasyWorship, EasySlides and more.

Managing Bible verses

  • By supporting Zefania XML Bible formats, Quelea gives us access to import and use a vast list of Bible translations.
  • So getting your favorite Bible translation into Quelea shouldn’t be too much of a hassle.

Media

  • With Quelea, you can add images and video files as slide backgrounds
  • All other regular customization and formatting options are also available

Unique features

  • Quelea helps with the church projection setup providing many test patterns you can use to ensure the screen is calibrated and positioned correctly.
  • Quelea can push song lyrics to any mobile device with a browser—in real time—and you can choose the display colors to best suit your viewing needs.
  • It also supports a separate stage view, enabling display of worship song chords only to the band onstage.
  • Its interface is available in English, German, Spanish, Swedish, Czech, Hungarian, Norwegian, Dutch, Lithuanian and Portuguese

Platforms

  • Quelea is Windows only at the moment.

Quelea is a superb church presentation program with a remarkable set of functionalities that should delight any Church.

7. VideoPsalm

If you need a worship software option with all kinds of features rivaling even paid alternatives, then VideoPsalm would be your No. 1 choice.

Of all the church presentation software I’ve had the pleasure to try out, VideoPsalm is the most exceptional—you’ll find just about any and every feature you might need!

Is it an easy worship software? Maybe not, but once you spend some time to learn it, there’s no looking back—you’ll love it.

Managing worship songs

  • Like Quelea, VideoPsalm can import songbooks from several sources—EasySlides, EasyWorship 2009, MediaShout, OpenLP, OpenLyrics format, OpenSong (Chords get imported too), Psalmo and plain text.
  • Moreover, the VideoPsalm online library itself provides over 10,000 worship songs!
  • Songs can also be stored with chords in ABC or Do-Ré-Mi notation apart from ChordPro compatibility.
  • Just like OpenSong, there’s a useful transpose feature here too.

Managing Bible verses

  • How does 330+ Bible translations in 100+ languages sound? Yes, that’s the number available!
  • Apart from all the regular Bible verse display features, VideoPsalm also supports dual language verse projection.

Media

  • VideoPsalm displays video, audio, photo, countdown, alert, PPT files and more. It’s a truly all-in-one worship software that can manage whatever you throw at it.
  • Slides can also be edited on-the-fly right in the middle of a presentation.
  • Media files can also be found quickly with the built-in search function.

Slides and templates

  • The slide setup features are vast and comprehensive. VideoPsalm provides granular control of every aspect of your slides and templates.
  • Fonts, backgrounds, media, colors etc.—all of it is easily customizable and editable.
  • Even during a live presentation, background image/video can be changed on-the-fly.

Extra cool features

  • Apart from adding images and videos as slide backgrounds, VideoPsalm also facilitates varying the background for each part of a song—the background for verse-1 can be different from that of verse-2 or chorus of bridge
  • VideoPsalm is also portable—the application can be run from a USB drive
  • Screen resolution is not a dependency at all. You can create the presentation in a 4:3 system and then project it on a 16:9 screen seamlessly
  • Portable set-list files to work and project in different systems
  • Available in 40+ languages
  • Single click live video background is also possible

Platforms

  • VideoPsalm is Windows only at the moment.

At the price of free, VideoPsalm—with its massive feature-set—is a splendid option for your church presentation requirements. I doubt you’ll find a better option than this.

8. Praisenter

Praisenter is a free Church presentation software to project worship songs, Bible verses and custom slides with images, audio/video etc.

If you’re looking for a reliable free option for your worship software requirements, you should take a serious look at Praisenter.

Managing worship songs

  • Adding songs to Praisenter is not rocket science. It comes with an  import facility, which facilitates bulk import of songs, provided they are in ChurchView or OpenLyrics format
  • Song parts (verse, chorus, bridge etc.) can be tagged easily—in fact, we can add unlimited number of parts to a song!
  • There’s a Quick Send panel to present songs immediately too (with hot key support)
  • A fast song search feature is also available

Managing Bible verses

  • Like songs, importing a Bible is also a piece of cake. Praisenter supports import of Bible translations from The Unbound Bible, which should take care of most scripture projection needs
  • Search for Bible phrases, words, verse locations, present them on the fly
  • Save lists of scripture verses for later reference/study

Media

  • Praisenter is an audio / video presentation program. Images, videos, audio and video files can be added to any kind of slide (songs, Bible verses or custom slides)
  • Videos and images can be used as slide backgrounds or as floating components. And yes, videos can be looped!
  • With respect to format, Praisenter has you covered by using the Xuggler library

Slides and templates

  • With Praisenter, custom slide templates can be created separately for Bible verses, Songs and other content
  • Slide transition effects, notifications (again, with customizable templates) and more round off the wide array of features

Extra cool features

  • Praisenter can display up to two translations at the same time—great for multilingual services!
  • You can create slides and templates in a machine, export them and then import them into another machine including attached media. So we can work on one computer and use another computer for the final presentation

Platforms

  • Praisenter can be installed on Windows, Mac and Linux machines.

Praisenter is a beautifully designed, classy church presentation software that’s sure to thrill any worship ministry.

Other free church presentation software—honorable mentions
9. Datasoul

Datasoul is an open source church presentation software to display lyrics, scripture and other text in worship services.

It has a flexible template system to preset how the slide content is formatted. It can be used to present slides with image and video backgrounds (including live feeds from an attached video camera).

Alerts, support for any display resolution, launch of other files like PPT, Open Office, remote display over network etc. are other useful features of Datasoul.

Presentations can also be exported as PDF files.

10. Songview

Songview is a free worship song projection software for churches that can handle projection of songs and Bible passages with image or video backgrounds.

Songview supports PowerPoint files, addition of guitar chords to songs with stage display for bands, alerts, slide editing during live presentation and more.

Similar to VideoPsalm, Songview can also be installed and run from a USB drive also.

11. EpicWorship

EpicWorship is a free, open source church projection and presentation software focusing on simplicity. It comes with just the most important list of features without complicating anything.

EpicWorship facilitates slide projection with image and video backgrounds (MP4 H.264-encoded only), import of OpenSong Bible formats and playback of audio files (MP3 or AAC).

Like OpenSong, it’s simple and easy to install and use.

12. LyricsPro

LyricsPro is an Android church presentation app.

Using a schedule interface, LyricsPro can be used to present lyrics, videos, images and PPT slides. Font formatting and setting up image and video backgrounds are also possible. Songs can be imported from SongSelect too.

This can be best used in small group worship or band rehearsal sessions I think.

I will be watching this project to see how it develops in future.

12. Praise Base Presenter

Praise Base Presenter is an open source church presentation software to project worship lyrics, photos (JPG only) and Bible passages.

Apart from a simple song editor, it can also import Zefania XML Bibles and display lyrics in two languages.

13. Church Presenter

If the above options have not been able to convince you to ditch PowerPoint, then you should consider using Church Presenter.

This is a free plugin for PowerPoint 2007 that adds quite a bit of church friendly muscle to PowerPoint.

The add-in enables using PowerPoint for presentation, while facilitating quick song search by number, theme, alphabetical index, and keyword.

The layout of lyrics and Bible verses can be customized by using editable templates. Also supports export of songs to regular PowerPoint files with embedded fonts. Windows only.

Other Church Presentation Software

  1. VideoPsalm – Free church presentation software for presenting songs, videos, images, and text to your congregation. 
  2. Worship Him – Presentation software for churches for displaying song lyrics, announcements, Bible passages and other multimedia files. 
  3. ZionWorx – Professional presentation software for presenting text and media to church members.
  4. Worship Extreme – Multilingual presentation software for churches for enhancing your congregation’s worship experience.
  5. Sharefaith Presenter – PowerPoint plugin allowing you to transform PowerPoint into a church presentation software.
  6. Mediashout – Customizable church presentation tool with a library of songs and Bible passages.
  7. Christie – Provides services including projectors and AV displays for churches.
  8. EasyWorship – Church presentation software for churches of all sizes.
  9. Renewed Vision ProPresenter – Presentation software for churches, concerts, sporting events, and fixed installations.
  10. Faithlife Proclaim – On-premise and cloud-based church presentation software for remote displays and presentations.
  11. WorshipStorm – Church presentation app you can connect to Planning Center for displaying lyrics, videos, images, and slides.
  12. Yodeck – Screen management platform for creating and managing digital displays and signages.

CONCLUSION

Church presentation software can help you organize and display multimedia aspects to your weekly sermons and special events. This helps you reach both visual and auditory learners with your message. Be sure to follow along with The Lead Pastor blog to keep up with more church software trends.

There are many factors to be considered when choosing a presentation software for churches. From the ability of the software to support various document types to its capacity in handling video and internet sharing. Here is a list of some of the most popular church presentation software.

You may want to consider choosing non-commercial, non-branded presentation software for your church. This can help you and the church become completely independent of any type of proprietary application that makes it difficult to move your data and/or changes in your presentation software away from the original developer.

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