10 Tips for Choosing New Church Lyric Software
How well is your church’s current solution for displaying lyrics holding up?
Does it perform well? Is it easy to use? Are the developers still adding new features and content? Can you create designs or find templates that look current and fresh, or does every Sunday look like 2008?
You may be surprised just how much has changed in worship projection software in the last decade, as presentation softwares have expanded way past PowerPoint, and come into their own.
In this post, you’ll learn several insider tips on what to look for when choosing new church song lyrics software. You’ll also witness just how much you can do in ProPresenter, the leading professional-grade solution for all your presentation needs — including your need for church lyrics presentation software.
1. Look for Worship Lyrics Software that Integrates with Lyrics Databases
The first tip is vitally important because it saves your people a ton of time. Modern church lyric software solutions like ProPresenter are tied into some of the top song databases serving the church, like ChartPro from MultiTracks.com or even SongSelect by CCLI.
What this means for your AV team is no more manually typing in lyrics or copy/pasting from Google. Now your team can import songs and project lyrics from thousands of worship songs new and old, saving hours every week, with lyrics right the first time.
ProPresenter also pulls in copyright information automatically, allowing you to follow CCLI requirements without headache.
If you’re still using PowerPoint or Keynote or some other general-use presentation solution, you’re burning considerable time wrangling lyrics. Look for a new church presentation software solution that automates nearly all this work.
2. Choose Worship Presentation Software with Premade Themes
Most churches don’t have a graphic artist on staff, but still want things to look good. The easy solution to this is premade Themes, where you can make a few tweaks, but most of the hard work is done already.
Some of the free church presentation software solutions out there look like they were designed in the 90’s, or come with minimal design options to begin with. To solve this, you need a modern solution for your church projection needs, one with themes you won’t be embarrassed to use.
3. Choose a Product with Easy Access to Media Libraries
Most modern worship lyrics software solutions have built-in access to media libraries, often both free and paid media. Make sure the solution you choose includes support for these because here too you’ll save countless hours of manual searching outside your presentation software, purchasing or downloading media, converting media types, and importing.
ProPresenter allows users to access a wide range of free media and content, plus there’s a paid media store where users can find premium resources to enhance the worship experience.
4. Get an Advanced Professional Slide Editor That’s Easy to Use
Make sure that any church song lyrics software you consider has an advanced professional slide editor that allows you to customize your lyrics, Bible passages, and anything else that goes on your presentation slides (including any video files or audio files you’re using within a presentation).
At the same time, make sure the editor in that presentation solution is easy to understand and to use. Most churches rely on volunteers with minimal training to serve in various roles, so you need something that doesn’t overwhelm and makes sense to your typical volunteer.
ProPresenter strikes the perfect balance, with a deep, robust slide editor for those who need it, and simple, intuitive controls for those who just want the basics.
5. Remote Control Support Is Worth Having
If your current idea of a lyric or presentation remote control is a USB stick and a two-button remote, there’s a lot more options.
Modern software for churches, also offer app-based remote controls that can do far more than the USB remotes. ProPresenter’s remote apps are available on both iOS and Android and are fully functional with ProPresenter on both Mac and Windows.
One unique advanced feature of the remote apps is the use of local Wi-Fi connection for control, without needing to connect over the Internet. Whether in portable setups, security-conscious locations, or ad hoc networks where you just need to get something working without Internet, you can still control ProPresenter.
Watch out for solutions that are Windows/Mac only for the desktop client, or iOS/Android only for the remote app.
6. Check on Support for Lower Thirds
Many churches are using lower thirds to display lyrics over live video, either for livestream or an in-house video feed for overflow rooms, nurseries, or even lobby TVs. While it’s possible to combine multiple tools and cobble this together, there’s no need when you use ProPresenter.
ProPresenter has presets for lower thirds and has elaborate routing options to handle everything else in your feed, including live video from Zoom or Skype. Because ProPresenter can set video content to foreground or background, you’re able to customize your lyrics display as much as you want for the various screens connected.
7. Choose a Solution that Offers Multiple Screens
Live streaming worship services is more common today than ever before, and many churches and send differing versions of a presentation feed to different locations. If you’ve ever tried to do that with PowerPoint or other office-oriented products, you know it isn’t possible. Some church presentation solutions include limited support for this, but only ProPresenter offers complete customization across multiple outputs.
For example:
- Main Projector
- Nursery
- Live Stream
- Overflow
- Lobby TVs
- Media Room
- Green Room
- Stage Screen (AKA Foldback Screen or Confidence Monitor)
You can show different lyrics formats, clocks, timers, info, and combinations of live streams and motions.
For more complicated setups, such as environmental projection or multiple LED walls, it’s common to use ProPresenter with ProVideoPlayer 3, for a higher degree of control.
8. Multiple Stage Displays: a ProPresenter Exclusive
Along the same lines as the previous tip, some churches would benefit from multiple stage view displays — not just one, which is all you get with anything else on the market.
Consider how powerful it could be to send one feed to vocalists and another to instrumentalists. In larger churches, a feed to the pulpit with sermon notes and timers could be paired with a customized operator or producer view.
This feature might sound like overkill, until you start using it and realize that it is a game-changer.
9. Insist on Cross-Platform Compatibility
The best church lyric software will offer a true cross-platform experience, working equally well on Windows and Mac computers. You may not need this regularly if you’re an all-PC or all-Mac organization, but cross-platform compatibility can be very useful.
You never know when a guest might require something you aren’t able to support, or hardware advances will suddenly make a platform much more attractive. By choosing a cross-platform solution, you avoid unforeseen issues and stay prepared for any eventuality.
ProPresenter 7 is fully cross-platform for Windows and Mac, and offers iOS and Android remote apps as well.
Wrapping Up
If you’re looking for new church lyric software, the best solutions aren’t just good for lyrics, but comprehensive presentation softwares able to handle more than just words on a screen.
Don’t settle for an application or platform built for the general market, like PowerPoint. If you do, you’ll miss out on features designed for your usage, like importing songs directly, or even built-in Bibles.
In the landscape of church-oriented lyric and presentation software, ProPresenter is the dominant option with good reason. ProPresenter gives capabilities no one else can, and outperforms the competition in terms of power, depth, and ease of use.
If you’re ready to see for yourself how you like ProPresenter 7 as church song lyrics software, download now to start your unrestricted two-week trial today.
