Guide · Choosing software
Free church presentation software: what you actually get
“Free” is the first word most churches type, and it is a fair place to start. Here is what the free options give you, and where the cost turns up instead.
OpenLP: genuinely free
OpenLP is free, open-source worship software that runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and it works offline. It handles songs, Bibles and slides, and it has a large community. If you have someone patient who enjoys setting things up, it is a good choice and it costs nothing.
The cost is time. You import Bible translations and type in or import your songs yourself. The DCLM Gospel Hymn Book is not included, so a DCLM church starts by typing hymns in — and deciding by hand where each chorus goes.
PowerPoint and Google Slides
Many churches already have them, so they feel free. They work until the leader calls a hymn nobody prepared, or the preacher reads a verse that was not on the slides. Neither can find a hymn or a verse for you during the service.
Where Psalter fits
Psalter is not free, and it would be misleading to say so. It costs a one-time ₦25,000 for one computer. In exchange:
- All 252 DCLM hymns and the whole King James Bible are already inside — nothing to type in or import.
- Every DCLM chorus is already its own slide.
- Sermon notes from Word or PDF become one-click scripture slides.
- It works fully offline, from the first launch.
You can try every feature free for 14 days. After that, nothing switches off: the screen simply carries a small mark in the corner until a key is entered, because software that goes blank mid-service is worse than software that is not paid for.
How to decide
If you have a volunteer with time to set things up, try OpenLP first. If your media desk is one person arriving twenty minutes before service, and your church sings from the DCLM book, Psalter will save that person the most time.