Church software can be complicated but it doesn’t have to be. With church techs sharing best practices it can be easy to set up your church with the right software. Here you’ll find a list of the right tools for your needs.
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.
ProPresenter(60)4.6 out of 5Favorite
Propresenter is a presentation software that allows you to show videos, pictures, as well as lyrics.Read ProPresenter Reviews Compare Proclaim(17)4.7 out of 5Entry Level Price:$19.99 per monthFavorite
A presentation software made just for churches, Faithlife Proclaim blends specialized features with intuitive design for seamless church presentations. Create your services quicker each week with automatic formatting, streamlined service layouts, and thousands of graphics. Don’t double-up on work, import items from PowerPoint, Planning Center, and WorshipPlanning.com with a just few clicks. Proclaim is designed to leverage the power of your entire team. Work together, wherever, whenever on Mac… Show More Read Proclaim Reviews Compare Get a quotePlaylister(83)4.7 out of 5Entry Level Price:$19.99Favorite
Playlister is the best church presentation software for kids ministry leaders to use. Every church wants to influence the next generation. But curriculum doesn’t just appear in your classrooms. You’re responsible for getting it there. That’s why so many Kids Ministry leaders are dependent on USB sticks and old software. Today loading up USB sticks takes up valuable time. And today’s volunteer wants something easy to pick up and use in the classroom. That’s where Playlister can help.Read Playlister Reviews Compare Get a quoteMediaShout(27)3.7 out of 5Entry Level Price:$399 1 Single ComputerFavorite
MediaShout’s roots go back to the 1990s. While working for Josh McDowell and Acquire The Fire, the company’s four founders saw the need for a tool that would help run live worship presentations. The technology was changing and the ability to incorporate media into worship was becoming easier, while churches and other ministries were looking to move away from hymnals and overhead transparencies. Rather than buy an existing program from the entertainment industry, they decided to write their own… Show More Read MediaShout Reviews Compare Get a quoteEasyWorship(13)3.5 out of 5Entry Level Price:Starting at $18.00Favorite
EasyWorship is a powerful, yet simple church presentation software. Build your entire church service – song lyrics, Scriptures, announcements, videos and sermon notes – in one place, quickly and efficiently. Experience the software that is uniquely designed to meet the needs of churches, big and small, around the world.Read EasyWorship Reviews Compare Get a quoteVideoPsalm(9)4.2 out of 5Favorite
VideoPsalm is a free worship presentation software compatible with PowerPoint, EasyWorship, OpenSong, OpenLP, and several other solutions.Read VideoPsalm Reviews Compare Get a quoteShareFaith(6)2.8 out of 5Favorite
Sharefaith Presenter is a PowerPoint Plugin that transforms PowerPoint into a full-fledged Worship Presentation Software. If you are on a PC and use PowerPoint, then Presenter will amaze you with its simplicity, ease of use, and powerful production features.Read ShareFaith Reviews Compare Worship Extreme(4)4.3 out of 5Favorite
Worship Extreme is a multi-language church presentation software with cue lists and polls that syncs all data with the cloud.Read Worship Extreme Reviews Compare SongShow Plus(3)3.5 out of 5Favorite
Communicate effectively with the right tool and make the most of your visual real estate with songshow plus.Read SongShow Plus Reviews Compare ZionWorx(3)5.0 out of 5Favorite
ZionWorx is powerful and easy-to-use presentation software, designed to meet the needs of churches that want to use multimedia in worship.Read ZionWorx Reviews Compare Quelea(2)2.5 out of 5Favorite
Quelea is a ultilingual church projection software with separate stage view for displaying chords to the band. Supports image & video backgrounds.Read Quelea Reviews Compare Church Presenter(1)2.0 out of 5Favorite
Church Presenter is a free presentation software specifically written for churches. It has been designed as an Add-in for PowerPoint 2007 in order to give the users the same familiar PowerPoint user interface that over 500 milion people are using worldwide.Church Presenter targets the specific needs of presenters during Church worship services such as searching and displaying hymns by hymn number, alphabetical index, hymn topic and by keyword.Read Church Presenter Reviews Compare eCatholic(1)4.5 out of 5Favorite
eCatholic provides a total content management system that helps Catholic parishes, ministries, & dioceses create websites & website design.Read eCatholic Reviews Compare FreeWorship(1)4.0 out of 5Favorite
FreeWorship is a rich presentation software containing many features, yet remains simple to use. No need to spend a long time learning how to use a new piece of software, as the interface is intuitive.Read FreeWorship Reviews Compare OpenLP(1)4.5 out of 5Favorite
OpenLP is an open source worship presentation solution that supports playback of multiple video files with VLC integration.Read OpenLP Reviews Compare Presentation Manager(1)5.0 out of 5Favorite
Presentation Manager is a worship presentation and projection software for churches. Contains song database, several Bibles, and slide templates.Read Presentation Manager Reviews Compare Big Screen0 ratingsEntry Level Price:FreeFavorite
Big Screen is cross-platform easy to use church presentation software. Specifically created for church worship services. Display lyrics, videos, Bible verses, images, timers & more using themes that you create for the layout. Ideal for multiple locations as sharing media is super easy. Big Screen is subscription based and has a 30 day free trial.Read Big Screen Reviews Compare Get a quoteChurch Plant Media0 ratingsFavorite
Church Plant Media builds websites for gospel-centered churches, ministries, and missions.Read Church Plant Media Reviews Compare Faithlife Equip0 ratingsFavorite
Faithlife Equip is the world’s first integrated ministry platform. It includes all the technology and Bible study tools your church needs for discipleship and growth. It includes Logos Bible Study resources, people management software, presentation software, a church website builder, online giving, and more—all integrated with one login and one customer support team.Read Faithlife Equip Reviews Compare Get a quoteFlyWorship0 ratingsFavorite
Worship band software that enables usage of pre-recorded or uploaded songs and controlling multitracks by the keyboard or foot pedals.Read FlyWorship Reviews Compare PraiseBase Presenter0 ratingsFavorite
PraiseBase Presenter is a open source software enabling you to project lyrics, photos and scripture. Comes with an easy song editor, Zephaniah XML Bible support and a fast song search feature. PraiseBase Presenter can also display lyrics in two languages on the same slide.Read PraiseBase Presenter Reviews Compare Praisenter0 ratingsFavorite
Praisenter is a free church presentation software for easy presentation of bible verses, in-presentation overlay notifications, and customization.Read Praisenter Reviews Compare Song of Songs0 ratingsFavorite
Song Of Songs is powerful yet simple to use, which can be used for churches of all sizes to control their media presentations service after service.Read Song of Songs Reviews Compare Get a quoteSongView0 ratingsFavorite
Songview is a free, easy to use and feature rich presentation software system designed for use in church services.Read SongView Reviews Compare Sunday Worship0 ratingsFavorite
Church presentation software to aide with your worship with Project Songs, Scriptures, Photos, videos, and notices for all the congregation to see.Read Sunday Worship Reviews Compare WorshipCenter Pro0 ratingsFavorite
WorshipCenter Pro is a worship presentation software package specifically engineered for church services.Read WorshipCenter Pro Reviews Compare Worship Him0 ratingsFavorite
Worship Him is a church presentation software with song usage tracking and reporting. Enables fast cue lists creation via drag and drop functionality.Read Worship Him Reviews Compare
CONCLUSION
Church management software is designed for churches, church groups and other nonprofit organizations that wish to keep track of donations or have members. Church administrative software will help you manage your database, track attendance and finances, schedule members for events, etc.