Using LCD projected slides to display song lyrics, keynotes of a sermon, Bible verses, announcements etc. has rapidly become a standard practice in church.
PowerPoint maybe the most popular presentation software but lets face it: It's only a simple presentation application and not really the best fit for church presentation needs especially song lyric projection during worship.
For example, what would happen if the worship leader sings verse-1, then chorus, then skips verse-2 and sings the bridge instead? The person handling PowerPoint would frantically press up, down etc. to find the right slide and distract the congregation with jumping slides during those moments.
Or what if the preacher uses a Bible verse that is not on the prepared set of slides? People look at the screen for the verse to be displayed and don’t find it...again unnecessary distraction for the congregation.
A search for alternative software gives us many applications with great features but they would burn a big hole in the wallet to buy.
I use OpenSong to store my songs with chords – sort of like a master song base of all the possible songs I can use in my worship sessions. There is also a free downloadable set of 1,000 popular worship songs (most of them with chords) to get started.
But for projection purposes, while OpenSong is better than PowerPoint, Openlp has the widest list of features among all free software that I have seen.
Here are some of the many reasons to dump PowerPoint and use Openlp instead:
Supports dual monitors – While the audience sees only the lyrics/Bible verses, Openlp allows edits on my laptop, preview what’s coming next, change to any verse, chorus or bridge without missing a beat etc.
Enables on-the-fly projection of any Bible verse as fast I can type John 3:16 without disturbing the audience as they would not see what I am doing behind the scenes. So the preacher is free to call out any chapter and verse and it can be on screen within seconds.
- Maintains a flexible database of songs, which I can add, edit or update anytime. It also allows importing of songs from other Openlp song databases or even other projection applications like OpenSong.
- Comes with two Bible translations and allows import of more translations from BibleGateway and OpenSong.
- Facilitates song search and Bible search by any word to quickly find the desired song/Bible verse.
In short, Openlp is specifically developed for church use and offers excellent flexibility to project Bible verses, song lyrics and more.
To download and use, visit www.openlp.org and let me know if it works for you.
Do you use any other free software for your worship projection requirements?
