A church presentation system allows your church to display information to your congregation. Typically, you will display the lyrics to songs the congregation is singing. You will also show scripture, outlines, and key points during the preaching. It has been argued that churches have worshipped for years without this technology. “Why do we need it now?” Churches existed for years without air conditioning as well. But very few churches today meet in the summer without a functioning air conditioning system.
When used properly, a church presentation system enhances the worship experience. And yes, when not used properly, it can become a distraction. The hardware and software used in a church presentation system must be adequate for the task. But more importantly, the people running the system must be properly trained and have a worshipful attitude.
The central piece of hardware will be the computer running the system. Don’t skimp in this area. You will be asking it to drive heavy graphics on multiple screens. It may also be driving audio to the sound system. If it lags or shuts down during the service, it will be a distraction rather than an enhancement. The exact specs for this computer will be driven by the software used and the display equipment connected to it. But again, don’t skimp on this piece of equipment.
The number and type of displays used is determined by the size and layout of your sanctuary. Typically, displays will be either large screen TVs with HDMI inputs or ceiling-mounted projectors. You may have multiple displays configured for the congregation to see. You may also have a display configured for the pastor, band, or choir to see. Depending on the software, these displays may be configured to have different information.
Depending on the layout of your sanctuary, you may need some method of duplicating one HDMI signal from the computer to multiple HDMI displays. This is accomplished by using an HDMI Splitter. If the distance between the computer and the display is more than 50 feet, you will need an HDMI extender. The typical HDMI extender will convert the HDMI signal to CAT5 or CAT6 cable. At the other end, the signal is converted back to HDMI. In larger churches, you may use an HDMI switch. With an HDMI Switch, the different outputs from the computer are feed to the switch. You can then program the switch to send the correct HDMI output from the computer to the right screen. The switch can be managed during the service so that screens can be connected to different HDMI feeds as required.
The software running the whole system is also very important. ProPresenter is the undisputed king in this area. It is designed from the ground up to be a church presentation system. It has more features and capabilities than any one church will ever use. The people responsible for running this software will need training and time to test it out.
If you are testing out the idea of on-screen presentations in your church, you can use software such as Microsoft’s PowerPoint or one of the many free or less expensive presentation software systems. Some of these include EasyWorship, Proclaim by Logos, FreeShow, MediaShout, Risen Media, VideoPsalm, Worship Extreme, ZionWorx, SlideDog, OpenLP, and Beautiful.ai.
More important to this system than the hardware and software are the people running it. This presentation team will become part of the worship team. Whether you use a choir or a worship band, the person running the software will need to be at rehearsals. They will need to prepare for the Sunday morning service by practicing with the choir or worship band. This allows them to have the correct slides for the songs in the correct order. Maybe your choir decides to skip verse three. The Presentation Person can remove those slides from the Sunday morning service. Maybe your worship band decides to sing three bridges instead of two. The Presentation Person can add the correct slides during practice rather than fumbling through them on Sunday morning.
The pastor will need to have his sermon prepared by at least Wednesday before the service. He needs to communicate to the Presentation Team what he expects during his sermon. Does he want his outline on the screen? Does he want his Sermon Points on the screen? What scripture does he want on the screen? Someone on the Presentation Team will need to create the Sermon Slides. On Sunday morning, the Presentation Person should be able to step slide by slide as the pastor preaches.
This may take some time for the “gears to mesh.” As the Pastor works with the Presentation Team, each will learn what is needed to make the process flow more smoothly. The Pastor will learn what information he needs to provide to the presentation Team. The Presentation Team will learn the style and flow of the Pastor while he preaches. It does get easier with time.
A Church Presentation System will not work without the right hardware and software. But more importantly, you need the right people to run it.
