With the rising trends of media outlets providing their content through social networking sites, church leaders are wondering how to take control of this medium. The internet is the preferred viewing medium among today’s younger generations with YouTube videos rising in popularity. If you are ready to take back control of the content your congregation consumes, then you are guided in this article to put together a solid plan for doing so.
What Is The Best Worship Presentation Software?
A question we’ve heard many church and lay leaders ask is, “How can we use today’s technology to better facilitate our Sunday services?” Or, “What can we do with media to enhance a sermon or help attendees engage in worship?”
Engagement in the modern church, while certainly driven by the pastor’s speaking and the worship team, can also be encouraged with visual-aids on the screen for the message points, scripture, and lyrics. Our culture relies on visual support for many things in our lives and our attention increases when powerful and complementary images, words, and sounds are utilized together. These are all elements that many churches deliver diligently each week. One of the key factors in implementing these elements is choosing the right worship presentation software to help enhance the message and help the congregation engage during worship.
There is a wide variety of worship software available. In fact, from our research, we have found over 50 different church-focused presentation software platforms. Some of these are cutting edge, while many are outdated and not designed for the latest operating systems. However, most of the regularly updated software packages are very innovative. Some deliver new tools and benefits not seen before in presentation software for churches.
In narrowing down viable, modern choices, let’s start with some basics. First, is the church presentation software affordable? It’s not uncommon to be attracted by the lowest price, only to find out that much of what you need is only available as paid add-ons. Your low-cost software can turn into a complicated, pricey endeavor before you realize what’s happened! So when considering price, take into account the entire picture. Will you have to pay extra to have all of the Bible versions you need? Is it going to cost you more money to include all of the computers you need to activate? Is paying monthly more expensive than a one-time cost? Count the cost – the whole true cost. (Check out our “Worship Software and Bibles They Include” blog where we go into detail on bible version fees across the different worship presentation software products.)
The second factor is stability. More important than bells and whistles is the overall performance of your software option. The best choice will run well and will not be complicated to troubleshoot with issues while you’re presenting live for your congregation.
The next point is usability. The main reason for investing in this kind of worship software is to make life easier on all who are involved in your media ministry—from those building the presentation to the possibly non-technical users and volunteers who will be running the presentation. This means your software should be designed specifically for church use and should be easy to get familiar with. Check to see if your software offers substantial training materials like written guides or videos and webinars. Without these, you’ll likely miss out on a huge number of features that can enhance your services and greatly reduce your preparation time.
Taking into account the above three factors can help you find the best church presentation software for your needs. Not every church presentation software is made equal and no one software is perfect for all churches. Once you do find the right option, there remains one last piece to consider. Sooner or later, you’re going to need some help or want to ask a question, share an experience, or simply get an opinion on the best way to do something. Therefore, the availability of a support team and a community of users, available via e-mail, phone, social media, etc. is paramount—especially support that’s available during your actual service times. (See the Plus Membership from MediaShout!) Having that helping hand and human factor can make a big difference. So double-check to be sure this is included with your presentation software package.
Worship Software
You might be asking yourself why you can’t just use Powerpoint or some other ordinary presentation software. To answer that, we’d say you need to understand that church presentation software differs dramatically from ordinary presentation software. Church presentation software is built specifically for church needs, and that’s where the benefits come in.
A good worship software package will access CCLI’s large database of songs through their SongSelect program and pull them directly into slides. It will include many versions of the Bible (that are easy to insert into your presentation) and some of them (i.e. MediaShout) will even show two different versions of the Bible at the same time. This kind of software program will help you easily build a presentation (checkout Sermon Builder), put video motion backgrounds behind lyrics and more. In other words, it incorporates just about anything you might need in a church service at the highest level while staying easy to use.
Projection Software
To gain all the benefits from modern church projection software, you need extensive media and support options, a powerful control interface, and of course, ease of use for training and usability. With software being at the heart of how your media is designed and presented, it’s definitely not something to skimp on. Fortunately, there are good open source options besides PowerPoint to use, if you can’t afford one of the more powerful options. Here are some of them.
Free Church Presentation Software
- OpenLP
Thanks to this app’s integration with VLC, it is possible to put lyrics, images, Bible verses and videos on slides. Furthermore, it allows you to play music in the background (though it can’t do this for videos). It also offers a simple remote control function which allows you to manage your presentation from any place. It is available on many different OS’s including Mac, Linux, Windows, and FreeBSD.
- FreeWorship
FreeWorship has numerous advantages. It makes it possible to import lyrics from different sources such as CCLI, OpenSong, OpenLP, and many others. In case that you have switched from different software, it is possible to relocate your already existing database of songs without much difficulty. It also supports many image formats and imports Zefania and OpenSong Bibles. Similar to OpenLP, it integrates with VLC. However, FreeWorship is only for Windows.
- OpenSong
OpenSong is one of the easiest-to-use free software packages. It meets the most basic software demands, though it does lack many of the more useful characteristics of the other leading church presentation software options. Its strong point is worship lyrics management, as it imports songs from CCLI as well as displays chord charts. Also, it's possible to set an image as a background to a Bible verse. It is available on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
- EasySlides
EasySlides (formerly Easislides) contains fitted lyrics databases in multiple languages. The variety of languages makes this a popular application. You’ll be challenged, however, if you’re moving to this software from another presentation software. It will not allow you to relocate any existing database of songs from your old software to this one without a lot of painful steps (and an understanding of coding). There is also a limited amount of Bible versions and no ability to import versions from other sources. But the media possibilities are impressive. For example, it will play video and audio files with live backgrounds and even simultaneously project lyrics in two different languages. Its HTML generator also allows you to publish lyrics. EasySlides is available only on Windows.
- Quelea
A wide range of import possibilities is presented in this free software. You can easily import any existing worship materials from different software. A large selection of Bible translations is also available. Plus, the option of adding videos and images as slide backgrounds will definitely make your presentation more lively. It has a multilingual interface and offers some great test patterns (which are very useful in ensuring that the screen is situated in the right position). Quelea is available on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
- Other Free Options
There are other free options available including WorshipExtreme, VideoPsalm, Praisenter, and many more.
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Best Church Presentation Software
Although there are plenty of free church presentation software possibilities to make worship more engaging and visualized, it is not a secret that paid software opens you up to more creative and feature-filled tools. Let us have a look at the best options to choose from:
- MediaShout 7
MediaShout 7 is a completely redesigned and redeveloped version of this legendary software. MediaShout Version 1 was the pioneer of all church presentation software back in 2000 and is still innovating with new features and improvements with each version. MediaShout 7 has flexible Powerpoint style editing, effortless video and audio playback, full customization of text and object layers, and newly designed plug-ins to customize your presentation and workspace functions. It connects with CCLI SongSelect (a separate subscription service) and a user-managed song library, along with up to 70 Bible translations as part of the license. MediaShout also offers world-class tech support and training options from their team of church presentation experts (free and paid options are available). It is available for Windows only for $399 for a single computer/46 public domain Bible license or $499 for a site license (unlimited computers) and 70 copyright and public domain Bibles. MediaShout 6 is currently available for Mac users.
- Proclaim
This system does not require an upfront purchase, but rather an ongoing subscription. With the subscription, multiple accounts can be created and the software can be installed on multiple computers. One benefit of Proclaim is its integration with Logos Bible software. It does have some design limitations for slide creation, so it may limit your creative options. In case you have any problems you can consult their support or video training. This software is available for Windows and Mac (cost varies based on church size and features).
- EasyWorship 7
Like MediaShout, EasyWorship 7 is an updated and simplified software package. Such basics as slide design, a wide search of the Bible translations, and media are presented in this redesigned version. It allows for the integration of video, songs, and Bible verses and you can control your presentation. Some users may need to adjust to the interface as it’s quite different than many other familiar applications. Additionally, some of the more advanced design elements found in MediaShout and other programs aren’t found here. Purchases can be through either an annual subscription (encouraged to receive support options) or a one-time fee. It is available only on Windows.
- ProPresenter 7
ProPresenter 7 is one of the most robust editing and playback tools of any of the presentation software options out there. It can be simple to operate for most churches but takes more advanced users to set things up. It provides plenty of articles and video guides and has a strong user group. However, it is also one of the most expensive, as copyright Bibles are purchased one by one for $15 and on a per-computer basis. Many of the more advanced tools also have additional add-on costs. The base program is available for Windows and Mac at the price of $399 for a single license or $999 for a church campus license, plus the price of whatever copyrighted Bibles you need.
With ProPresenter 7, you get a year of support and software updates for free. After that year is up there is a yearly cost to continue getting support, bug fixes, software updates, and improvements. That cost is $159 per computer or $399 per campus license. If this membership expires for longer than 12 months following the first anniversary of purchase, it will require the purchase of an entirely new license according to ProPresenters website.
13 OF THE BEST FREE PRESENTATION SOFTWARE FOR EASY WORSHIP IN YOUR CHURCH
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.
Conclusion
Has your church ever considered using video in your ministry? If you’re not careful, it can cost a lot of money. You can easily spend a thousand dollars or more on a video camera and editing software.