praisenter church presentation software

Specialized presentation software tailored for churches, enabling seamless and engaging presentations for worship services and sermons

A free and open source presentation software package for Churches.

Feature rich, praisenter is packed with features that make presenting content easy and manageable., open source.

Praisenter is an open source project built by others that share your passion. This means that you can directly contribute to make Praisenter better.

100% free for any use. No registration or sign-up. No trial period or limited feature set. Just download and enjoy!

Display unique content on each display

Present Bible verses, song lyrics, videos, and more

Create slides, templates, songs, and other content

Prepare your content ahead of time

Organize your content into different workspaces

Multilingual

Present two languages side-by-side

File formats

Support for a huge number of media formats

Edit songs and bibles in bulk with copy/paste

And more...

Bible searching, edit in safety, and more...

Praisenter allows you to send content to each display independently. The number of displays is dependent on the number of video outputs your system supports.

Display Bible verses, song lyrics, pictures, videos, custom slides, and notifications.

With Praisenter you can create Bibles, song lyrics, and slides that include pictures, videos, and audio. Slides can have backgrounds, static text, dynamic text, the current date/time, count downs, pictures, animations, and more.

Since Praisenter is free, you can download it anywhere, and build content. After building that content you can export it and import it on another computer. This is a great way to prepare content for services ahead of time.

Workspaces allow you to collect all your assests (Bibles, song lyrics, videos, pictures, etc.) in a single location. You could create a workspace for Bible study nights and separate workspace for worship services or a workspace for youth services or special events.

Present side-by-side two languages (or two versions) when presenting Bible verses or song lyrics.

Praisenter can import hundreds of different media file formats. Upon importing, Praisenter will convert them to an optimized form. You can change (or turn off) this feature to fit your workflow.

Bibles and songs lyrics support bulk editing for easy copy/paste from other sources or fast transcription.

Other features include Bible searching, edit safety, notification overlays, slide queuing, text scaling, and more.

Praisenter is currently packaged for Windows and Ubuntu only. MacOS builds are currently not available. If you are feeling adventurous, you can try to build Praisenter yourself by cloning the GitHub repo .

Windows 10 x64 or higher

Ubuntu 22.04 x64 or higher

Quick start

Get started fast by following these easy steps.

Install Praisenter using the Microsoft Store for Windows or the SnapStore for Ubuntu using the links above.

Setup a workspace

After installation, when you run Praisenter, it will ask for a workspace. This should be a new or empty folder that will be used to store all the content.

Download a Bible

Launch Praisenter and go to the Help menu. Choose Download Unbound Bibles (for example). This will launch a webpage where you will see a list of lanugages containing Bibles.

Import a Bible

You can import Bibles, song lyrics, pictures, videos, and other content by dragging and dropping it anywhere on Praisenter. You can use the File, Import menu option as well.

Create your templates

Praisenter comes with VERY basic templates for display, you’ll likely want to build your own. Go to the File, New Slide menu option to start creating.

You're ready to start praisenting!

Read over the install help , open a discussion topic, or review the known issues list.

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13 Best Free Church Presentation Software for Easy Worship

It’s always amusing to see some folks still using PowerPoint to project song lyrics during worship.

I mean it’s such a painfully inefficient way of doing things—especially when there are so many superior and free church presentation software that take just a few clicks to setup and get going.

If you want a PowerPoint alternative or simply want to learn more about the best church presentation software available for free to support your worship services, you should read this article.

A screen displaying lyrics and Bible texts is more or less replacing printed material at most places of worship. Depending on how it is used, the screen can be a purposeful aid or an unfortunate distraction.

Choosing the right church software to run your slides is therefore an important decision to support the worship environment.

If you’re on a tight budget, here are a number of free worship software in no particular order that offer a variety of features to suit your church presentation needs.

13 of the best free presentation software for easy worship in your church

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
• 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
• 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.

• 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
• 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.)
• 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
• 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.
• 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.

• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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.

• 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
• FreeWorship can import Zefania and OpenSong Bibles, which should take care of most of your scripture projection needs.
• 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.
• 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
• 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
• 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.

• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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.

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.”

• 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.
• 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.
• 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
• 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.

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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
• 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.

• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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.

Have I missed anything in this list? What is your favorite worship presentation software? Do share in the comments.

Image: Environmental Projection

55 Comments

13 Best Free Church Presentation Software for Easy Worship In Your Church - Churchworker February 17, 2017 @ 10:31 pm

[…] Thanks to: Worship Blog […]

I appreciate the good work doing to help spread the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thanks so much. Please help with the various websites to get downloads for my church.

You can also use Worship.NET – Available at https://sourceforge.net/projects/worship-net/ It’s made for ministry members who may not have much experience or expertise in managing lyrics, with it’s intuitive and simple-to-use design.

*Disclaimer: I am the developer*

Hi all, Looking for a software that can be run directly from touch on a MS Surface Go2 10″ screen. Installed Open LP but lots of RMB required. Icons just too small on this screen. Cheers – Paul in NZ

Sorry, not aware of a software for that specific requirement.

We used MediaShout in my previous parish. When one of our volunteer projectionists could not be there, we used an IPad 9.7 to remotely control the video. It was a bit small. An IPad Pro is preferable. We used the IPad Pro 12′ as well. Since MediaShout is both available in Windows and MacOS, there never was any problem controlling the program remotely, without physically using the “projection booth” (where the control computer is located).

I don’t know about the other programs but I think it should be possible with any other program, since we did it using Teamviewer which is a program allowing you to use any computer on your network in remote.

Another option is called Song of Songs http://www.songofsongs.co.uk/

Disclaimer: I am the developer. 🙂

Thank you for your help

A chart summarising & comparing these would add a great deal of value to the article.

Good suggestion Peter, will try to get it done.

Another option worth mentioning is Big Screen. It is cloud based and works in your browser. You can read more about it here: https://bigscreen.show

Disclaimer: I am a developer for Big Screen.

Big Screen is not free Marc.

How to Use Great Tech for Worship Ministries on a Small Budget - Spread Worship April 10, 2018 @ 5:16 pm

[…] your multitrack package does not handle lyrics, you can use one of several freeware lyric presentation options. With the abundance of free or cheap options, pure software cost should not be a barrier in most […]

Do you have a recommendation for church presentation software that time sync with a project wireless-ly?

You could try cloud based solutions like Proclaim or Worship Extreme.

how to download this software

Choose your software, visit its website and go to the ‘downloads’ page.

please i need the procedure on how to download the free worship video background

There are tons of free sites to get images for free: pixabay.com unsplash.com pexels.com

Does any of these app allows to use a remote presenter? Or we need to have someone to sit next to the computer to click?

https://openlp.org/

We are looking for a program that you do not need an internet connection to use. Can you help us out?

Almost all of these programs don’t need an Internet connection to work.

I still fall back to PowerPoint. I have tried various other products, and while they can do some creative and different things, they all seem to be unable to do some essential thing. One of my main gripes is that many of them cannot do the simple task of displaying a verse with a section of it in a different color for emphasis. In the end, it is just easier and quicker to create my songs and sermon verses in PowerPoint. No CCLI plugin, but I have many songs already created and ready to go anyway. Why reinvent the wheel?

Just thought I’d point out that VideoPsalm can do this. Once you select your Verse(s) and add them to your agenda, you can right click them to convert them into an editable format in which you can do colors, fonts, and all kinds of things.

Exactly what I need too. People don’t want to see the bible verse by verse, a highlighted verse is way better.

VideoPsalm is an awesome piece of software. As a fledgling church, we were looking for presentation software that was free since we had no budget. I tried a few different ones but ended up with VideoPsalm. There is a learning curve to get started but once you get the hang of it, it’s incredibly easy to use. I can’t think of a feature I’ve needed that it couldn’t do. Video background, song imports, multiple import formats (PPT, PDF, etc), and more. Support is also great. I’ve emailed the author a few times and always get a prompt response. If you’re looking for church presentation software, even if you have a huge budget, check out VideoPsalm and you’ll love it.

Kel I cant get access to the videopsalm site to download the software. any help?

It’s available here: https://myvideopsalm.weebly.com/download.html

Is this video mapping software that will allow you to project custom animation?

If you choose a video compatible software, you can project just about any video file.

Well done. I am currently spearheading our media team in church and we recently bought a video camera. I would like to know if there is any software that i can connect the camera to the computer so it can be projected.

Would appreciate your feedback. Thanks

Software Holyrics – holyrics.com

Developed with the objective of facilitating the presentation of lyrics and verses in worship and events.

• Lyrics • Holy Bible • Audio and video player • Custom Themes • Animated background • History • Access and control by mobile • Stage View • Communication Panel • Schedule • Free

Looks great Miria, will add it to the list soon 🙂

Hi, we have been using Mediashout 3.5 for about 10 years, all of a sudden it just stopped working. The new version won’t run on this old computer, and when I installed on my own newer, the program is so completely different I cant comprehend myself having time to learn it, and then teach a bunch of student volunteers. Our needs are very simple. ALL of our songs and readings are already in MS Word .doc files. We don’t use any published songbooks or bibles, no video, no audio, no pdf, nothing. I only need a program that can handle matching the pages already set up in the .doc file (text is 48 pt) and populate it onto multiple slides. That’s it. Old mediashout did that just fine. New mediashout has way more features than we will ever use, and I just don’t have time to learn it.

I just tried VideoPsalm, and although it appears it should be able to do that, it doesn’t. Before I try the other 12 on the list, if anyone knows one that has just this one function, I would really appreciate it. Thanks.

this was very informative! I knew there had to be options other than PPT. I use Mac OS, so it helps knowing with programs are supported. Thanks for sharing!

You’re welcome!

The holyrics graphic takes you to the openlp site when you click it.

Thanks for pointing it out, correct now.

Easyworship

It’s not free.

Great site.

Just wanted to point out that the dark shade on the right side of your background makes it difficult to read the text.

OpenSong has some problem with remote control via Android app, so I tried Open LP, but you need to use some openSSL protocol… Seems like I will end up with Quelea. Thanks for tips!

Does any of this accept txt. song files

Not sure. But VideoPsalm (and OpenSong too I think) has converters for your existing song library, maybe you could try that.

it’s helpful

Do any of the free software’s listed provide for a separate output to OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) so that Worshipers can see a projected screen with whatever background image is selected, and OBS sees a transparent screen with white text to use as an overlay?

Not aware of software that can do this, sorry.

please what are the gadgets i need to get my church service on life streaming

Check this link Philip: https://www.switcherstudio.com/blog/how-to-livestream-your-church-service-for-free#:~:text=Start%20Live%20Video.-,YouTube,accessible%20on%20their%20own%20sites .

Hello! I read this article with great interest. We are a Reform Jewish congregation in Scottsdale, Arizona, looking to add “presentation software” for our monthly Rock Shabbat and similar services. Are you aware of (on-line) resources for song lyrics, Torah scripture, background video that would be applicable to our congregation? Thanks!!

Sorry, not aware of a resource for that.

Can i get bible in one of our local languages in East Africa in any of these,projected? which cauld it be?

There is also Cantara ( https://cantara.app ), a free open source and very simple Song Presentation Software which we use in our congregation for years and really like it due to its simplicity. Maybe you can add it to the list!

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Church Presentation Software: Elevating Worship with the Top 13 Picks

Emma Davis September 27, 2023 Uncategorized Leave a Comment

Church presentation software hasn’t always been around. With the evolution of technology, comes the evolution of how we do church. This means that new inventions give us new creativity. By using church presentation software, you can elevate your services.

Thankfully, most of the church presentation software companies have free trials so you can test out which software works best for your church. The goal is to elevate your worship service with custom slides, motion backgrounds, Bible scripture and other key features.

Estimated reading time: 12 minutes

Table of contents

What even is church presentation software, 2. pro presenter, 3. freeworship, 4. easyslides, 5. mediashout 7, 6. easyworship, 7. proclaim, 8. song of songs, 9. opensong, 10. zionworks, 11. big screen, 12. slipity, 13. praisenter.

Church presentation software is the technology that takes your service to the next level. This software helps you present lyrics on screens, videos, images, and slides during the service. Think of church presentation software as the digital hymn book.

The church presentation software that we want to highlight will help boost congregation participation. Having the ability to have Bible scripture on the screen as you preach can help your congregation take sermon notes. Just as having any lyrics on the screen helps new people be able to fully engage.

Best Church Presentation Software

The best church presentation software is the one that works best for you and your team’s needs. Whether you’re in need of a full worship graphics library, the ability to have Bible translations or other key features, we hope you find the best fit.

OpenLP is a church presentation software with various features to make church services interactive and more interesting for church members. You can use it to create slides from templates or custom ones for church services or make announcements. OpenLP comes with a free Android remote control app allowing you to control your presentation using your Android device anywhere inside your church. 

If you’re using Linux or FreeBSD as your church’s operating system, then OpenLP is the best church presentation software for you because OpenLP was made specifically for these operating systems. You’ll be able to use it to search and download a few selected Bible verses from a Bible site for use during presentations. You can use OpenLP to set up custom liturgies and setlists to make church services personalized in response to your congregation’s needs. 

Pro Presenter is one of the best 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’ll 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.

FreeWorship allows you the customization of presentations to help you prepare for worship services in advance. It is an easy-to-use software for creating and managing presentations for use during worship services and other church events. It has a video enhancer feature for adjusting brightness and contrast, ensuring optimal viewing of videos. FreeWorship also allows you to search for specific hashtags when searching for multimedia items. 

FreeWorship is best for smaller churches because it has basic features and is not complicated to use. It has a drag and drop functionality, making adding files and images straight to your service list easier. FreeWorship has a Child Lock feature to keep your files and formats secure by limiting who can make changes on critical files and presentations. 

EasySlides 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 won’t allow you to relocate any existing database of songs from your old software to this one without a lot of painful steps.

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 on multiple screens for better visibility. Its HTML generator also allows you to publish lyrics. EasySlides is available only on Windows.

At $399 per year, MediaShout is a higher-tier paid worship presentation software solution that is very popular.

The slide editor is powerful, even supporting advanced features like scrolling text. There’s support for stage screens with limited customization, audio and props layers, and audio playlists.Strangely, MediaShout used to be cross-platform but went Windows-only in its latest release (sorry, Mac users!), while its remote app is iOS-only.

Unique capabilities for this software include a sermon builder, and support for an announcements layer or rotating mode. Volunteer Mode turns MediaShout’s settings and edit functions off and simplifies the control and user interface, so that anyone can run a show with minimal training.

EasyWorship seeks to find the balance between power and simplicity, and it does so fairly well (with a few limitations). The focus here is on slide design, with different tabs for songs, scripture, media, presentations, and themes. Media integration includes content from several providers, which is a nice touch. 

There’s a remote app for Android and iOS, allowing you to send alerts to the stage or audience. There’s even support for a stage view or confidence monitor as well. Overall, in terms of design and capabilities, EasyWorship seems more limited than some other options.

EasyWorship is one of only a few solutions to include broadcasting support, which is a big plus. EasyWorship does have a few limitations you should be aware of. First, it’s Windows-only, and the app includes native support for English alone.

Proclaim is available as part of the Faithlife suite of products, and you might recognize them as the creators of the well-known Logos Bible Software. This software is a cloud-based app that allows multiple users to collaborate in real-time. It has a great set of integrations, including SongSelect, CCLI, Logos, and the higher-level subscription come with an extensive media library of motion graphics and video clips.

The slide editor is okay though a bit different than others. It’s easy to use, but it’s not revolutionary. In some ways, the Faithlife ecosystem is like Microsoft 365 for churches. The power isn’t in any single app or service; it’s in all the features and deep integrations.

However, of all the ones listed, Proclaim is the on the range of the more expensive option. The software is only a subscription, which, depending on church size and features, ranges between $200 to $1175 per year . The website suggests the most popular option for the average small church is $300/year.

Songs of Songs is fantastic free church worship presentation software to create or import songs from CCLI, so you can use a song library during worship services. You can use it to create presentations manageable by operators or yourself via remote control during services. It also has a liturgy builder functionality to help you build and manage your liturgy in a centralized location for easy access during services.  

Free software is always a great thing to try and can help your church save money, so if you want free church worship presentation software, then Song of Songs is the best one for you. It has periodic free upgrades, so your software always has the latest features at no cost. Song of Songs is easy to use, making it ideal for users even if they are not tech-savvy. 

OpenSong is another great open-source presentation app focused on lyric management, chord sheets, and bible verses. It supports timed loops of slides and allows you to keep track of song metadata and CCLI information. It is cross-platform, available for Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems, and supports multiple languages.

OpenSong is best for you if you want a church presentation software without spending a dime because this software is free! OpenSong is also open-source, allowing you to alter and improve the software to suit your church’s unique needs. It can also save your church money because, aside from being free, open-source software is less demanding when it comes to hardware requirements. 

ZionWorks is a very easy-to-learn software that you can use for church presentations. It is like an all-in-one toolbox that helps you to present videos, audios, PowerPoint slideshows , etc. You can plan a seamless church experience for your audiences with just a few simple steps. You’ll be able to use a remote control to have access from anywhere.

This presentation software is on the cheaper side if this is the one you choose. For a monthly subscription of $17.50 you’ll have full access, and if you choose an annual subscription, it’s slightly less at $14.50 a month.

Big Screen is a great church presentation web app to help you create and manage presentations for church services and social events. You can use it to create themes giving presentations a consistent look and feel on different platforms. It supports multiple outputs making it ideal no matter how many output devices you have. 

Big Screen is best for your church if you need church presentation software to create presentations with multilingual Bible verses. It comes with so many scripture translations from the New American Standard Bible, New King James Version, La Biblia de las Américas, Japanese Contemporary Bible, etc. With Big Screen’s multilingual capability, you can promote inclusion and make non-English speakers feel more welcome in your congregation. 

Slipity is an iOS app for projecting texts, song lyrics, media, and YouTube videos on an external display. It allows full customization of slides letting you control the size, duration of transitions, and background elements, so your slides look precisely how you envision them. You can use Slipity’s time-based triggers, allowing you to schedule the launch of a specific presentation. 

If your church uses Mac and iOS devices, Slipity is the best for your church because this software works best for those operating systems. You can use AirPlay Mirroring to control presentations projected on a full screen. Its Stage Display feature lets you view current and succeeding slides on plain text on your control monitor while displaying full output on your projection screen. 

Praisenter is a church presentation software for producing slides and presentations with song lyrics, Bible verses, images, and videos. You can use this software to search for Bible verses and save them for later use. It also allows you to import translations from The Unbound Bible, letting you present two translations of scripture simultaneously, making it ideal if your church has multilingual members. 

Praisenter is the one of the best church presentation software for your church if you need to project lyrics for your congregation. You can use the software to search, edit, and create songs for worship services. It has a slide editor that allows you to customize different aspects of your slides or templates, including gradients, text outline, video looping, and others. Praisenter also lets you add images, pictures, audio, or video on your templates for full customization. 

Take your time as you research and try out which church presentation software works best for your needs. There’s no need to pay for the biggest software if you don’t need all the functions they have to offer. Be creative with motion backgrounds, and elevate your sermons with the ability to put key points and bible verses on screens.

Related Links:

• 14 Top Church Presentation Tools For Amazing Presentations
• 7 Top Church Management Software Companies
• Explore the Best Bible Study Software Options
• Most Popular Worship Songs of 2022
• Popular Praise and Worship Songs of the ’90s

About The Author

Emma currently lives in Texas where she loves to write, read, and bake. She graduated from Hillsong College in Australia and received her degree in Communications from DBU in Dallas. She uses her passion for writing to communicate the love God has for his people.

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Church Presentation Software

What is church presentation software.

Church presentation software helps religious leaders, pastors, and ministers design, create, and exhibit religious presentations during church service and member gatherings. These solutions comprise pre-built media libraries, templates, and various editing tools to let users create custom presentations.

As compared to typical presentation solutions, church presentation software aligns with the requirements of churches by having pre-installed media libraries with popular religious hymns, worship music, Bible verses, announcements, sermon notes, and scriptures. Furthermore, a church presentation tool integrates with file storage and presentation streaming tools to streamline content import from various sources. Most of these solutions help facilitate multilingual services for congregations, thus resolving language barriers.

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Table of Contents

What are the key features of church presentation software?

What are the benefits of church presentation software, how much does church presentation software cost, how to choose a church presentation software, common questions to ask before choosing the best church presentation software.

Media library: Access and import pre-installed religious multimedia components, such as Bible verses, religious songs, images, graphics, and icons, to the presentation.

Drag-and-drop: Drag-and-drop pre-built church media components, including images, audio, worship music, and Bible verses, in your presentation to set up the slides. The feature lets users focus on details, view changes in real time, and restructure the appearance of the slides according to requirements.

Customizable templates: Use pre-designed templates and customize them with religious imagery, worship music, Bible quotes, and graphic elements to suit your requirements. Most church presentation tools allow users to save customized templates and repurpose them.

Digital signage: Integrate your worship presentation software with a digital signage solution (also known as display technologies, including LED walls and projectors) to enhance your presentation’s visibility, increase audience engagement, and display important messages, event details, and greetings as well as lyrics, prayers, and Bible verses on a big screen.

Presentation streaming: Broadcast church presentations over the internet to break the boundary of a physical event and reach a full potential audience. This feature helps churches build and connect with people who cannot attend in-person services, broadcast sermons in multiple languages, and encourage donations from online viewers who may be situated across the world.

Scripture database: Store, organize, and secure scripture verses, religious images, hymn lyrics, Bible quotes, and other media files in an integrated organization-wide database. With a unified database, it becomes easy to locate and retrieve data whenever required.

Multi-screen support: Display church presentations across multiple screens to deliver a high-quality experience, increase audience interaction, and improve engagement.

Accelerate presentation creation: Church presentation software comes with a collection of pre-designed templates that act as a ready-made structure for your worship slides. You can simply add all the required media, such as images, Bible verses, scriptures, and religious songs, to finish your design. Also, if you have a specific design or layout in mind, some tools let you customize your own presentation theme and store it for future use. Besides, with a simple drag-and-drop slide editor, it becomes easier to create presentations without spending hours on conceptualization.

Improve congregation participation: Most church presentation solutions allow church personnel to add interactive elements, such as Q&A, polls, and Bible quotes, to their slides and let the congregation respond to them.

Streamline data storage and management: These worship software solutions have a unified database that acts as a centralized and collective repository of media files and presentations. It stores your files in a structured format, making it easy for you to locate and retrieve required data at any point in time.

Enable remote control: Some church presentation tools offer a built-in web app that acts as a remote control and lets congregations access your worship service from any network-enabled device. You can make changes to your slides and search for hymns, Bible verses, and images, among other worship media, from the app.

Increase online presence: With live streaming capabilities, worship leaders can share their presentations during masses, sermons, and other religious services online. This enables them to increase their reach to audiences from all around the world. Church presentation tools also let users record presentations and share them on social media platforms to increase their online visibility.

Most products in the market are priced on a per-month basis and can be divided into three pricing tiers based on their starting price.

Price ranges:*

$7.99 - $10

*The pricing included is for the entry-level/lowest-priced offering found on vendor websites on October 11, 2022. These ranges correspond to the 25th, 75th, and 100th percentiles of pricing information gathered from vendor websites of sample products.

The above list summarizes pricing for the base plans of most products. An enterprise or premium product that is priced higher may include additional features such as extra cloud storage, team messages, stage display, and multiple output screens.

Look for multi-platform compatibility: While selecting a church presentation software solution, you should consider whether it will be compatible with your operating system or not and how effectively it will perform. You would also want to create presentations on numerous devices and have others access them on multiple devices. Therefore, you should prefer a tool that is not limited to one device or operating system.

Identify the features you need: Before you start searching for a church presentation solution, identify the features you need. Most presentation tools have a media library, pre-installed templates, text-editing tools, digital signage support, and a unified database to store your files. Analyzing specific requirements can also help you select software that meets your needs within your budget and avoid paying for features you may never use.

Analyze media inventory and live streaming options: Most worship presentation software comprise a media inventory that includes religious images, songs, videos, scriptures, and graphics. This feature allows users to import media files from different sources and embed them into presentation slides. You should also consider live streaming options to increase congregation engagement and remotely connect with those who cannot attend worship services in person.

Check designing capabilities: When it comes to designing, your presentation tool should offer flexibility. Besides offering pre-designed templates, it should support design customization. This helps users create custom designs that fit their vision. Some common customization capabilities you may consider include a drag-and-drop slide editor, media embedding, automatic text scaling, changing fonts, themes, background colors, and cropping.

Consider pricing options: Church presentation tools have multiple pricing plans, each with different features and capabilities. Once you've shortlisted a tool, view all the pricing plans a product is offering. Consider all the features listed under each plan and select the one that best aligns with your objectives.

Check software usability: Most pastors and worship leaders may not be very tech-savvy. Hence, the software you choose should be easy to use. It is prudent to select a tool that these users can learn to operate without much training.

How robust is the solution’s customer support?

You will most likely require professional help, especially if there are any connectivity or data migration issues. Some church presentation tools provide support only through email or phone, which may delay communication and lead to downtime. Consider investing in a solution that provides round-the-clock tech support via multiple channels, such as live chat, FAQs, phone, and email.

Is there a text and media editing feature?

Check if the selected worship presentation software allows you to edit text and media files as per sermon or service requirements. In addition, it should also provide a unified database to store all your customized files.

Does it support video embedding?

Incorporating videos in presentations has become a standard practice to drive audience engagement. Before you select a tool, ensure that the software allows you to embed audio and video clips in your slides from YouTube, Instagram, Vimeo, Google Drive, and other online sources.

Are the pre-designed templates editable?

Some church presentation software tools allow you to edit pre-designed templates as per your service objectives. However, this feature can be limited to certain types of software subscription plans. Check the template-editing feature with your selected presentation tool vendor and opt for the right subscription plan.

What are the available integration options?

Integration with third-party applications, such as media players, remote control, and file sharing, will make it easier for you to display and control your presentations and ensure secure file sharing. Therefore, ask the vendor about all the integration options that their solution can support.

Is there a free plan?

Some church presentation software vendors offer a free trial of their tool, which usually comes with limited access for 15 to 30 days. This version, however, comes with a limit on the number of users, slide templates, and output screens. Free trials help you understand the functionality of a tool so that you can make the right choice.

What control options does the tool include?

Most church presentation software solutions offer a central control system via a remote control app. It lets users control the show from anywhere, without relying on an external controller. Check if your shortlisted tool has any such option.

Products evaluated for the pricing calculation were taken from Capterra’s church presentation software directory and sorted by the number of reviews. The pricing ranges exclude freemium versions of the products. The features highlighted were identified based on their relevance and the percentage of products in Capterra’s directory that offer them.

ProPresenter

EasyWorship

Proclaim by Logos

Worship Extreme

LiveControl

Sharefaith Presenter

Risen Media

Song of Songs

Presentation Manager

Worship Him

Yet Another Sermon Host

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12 Best Church Projection Software For Visual Sermons In 2024

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As a technical consultant for MCC Illiana, I’ve researched and shortlisted the best church projection software to help you present visual elements in a clear, engaging, and impactful manner.

10 Best Church Projection Software Shortlist

Here's my pick of the 10 best software from the 12 tools reviewed.

• 1. Quelea — User-friendly church presentation software
• 2. Worship Tools — Lightweight church presentation software
• 3. MediaShout — Specialized church presentation software
• 4. Praisenter — Free church presentation software
• 5. KAMWISE — Tool to elevate your remote services
• 6. OpenLP — Open-source church presentation software
• 7. FaithLife — Presentation software with collaboration features
• 8. Shift Worship — Media library for churches
• 9. Presentation Manager — Church projection software with intuitive features
• 10. ProPresenter — Professional live production software

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There are so many different projection tools that making a selection of the best one for you can be tricky. You want to enhance your congregation's engagement through a clear and organized display of content, increasing flexibility and adaptability in responding to dynamic worship needs and styles but need the right tool for your church. I've got you covered! In this post, I leverage my experience with church leadership as a former assistant youth pastor and my current exposure to tools as a technical consultant for MCC Illiana, to share this curated list of the best church projection software.

What is Church Projection Software?

Church projection software refers to specialized computer programs designed specifically for churches and religious organizations to facilitate the creation and delivery of multimedia presentations during worship services, sermons, prayer meetings, and other church gatherings. It provides tools for organizing, editing, and displaying worship elements such as song lyrics, Bible verses, announcements, videos, and images on projection screens or monitors within the worship space.

Overall, this software helps churches create impactful and meaningful worship experiences for their congregation members.

Overviews Of The 10 Best Church Projection Software

Here’s a brief description of each church projection system to showcase each tool’s best use case, some noteworthy features, and screenshots to give a snapshot of the user interface.

User-friendly church presentation software

• Quelea is free software.

Quelea is projection software with plenty of features that make it a good choice for churches.

The tool integrates with plenty of content libraries, including OpenSong and Easy Worship. You can access these libraries from within the app. It’s also possible to add songs manually when needed.

The tool supports different projection outputs. For example, you can show a different presentation to the band than the one you show the congregation. Use this to include helpful information like scripts or chords.

Another cool feature is that the tool can push lyrics to any mobile device with a browser. This means your congregation doesn’t have to rely on projections to join in with songs, which is useful if people find the projector challenging to read.

The tool supports Zefania XML, which means you can choose from a vast array of bible translations.

• Check out Quelea on their website

Worship Tools

Lightweight church presentation software

• pricing starts at $15 per month for 5 GB of storage. All plans provide access to the three WorshipTools platforms.

WorshipTools is a company that creates software to help worship teams create better sermons.

Its presentation tool is called Presenter, and it’s full of easy-to-use features to elevate your sermon presentations. The other tools are Planning, which is for worship service planning and scheduling; and Music Stand, for building worship set lists.

Presenter has plenty of useful features. Cloud sync means you can access your presentation anywhere—work on it at home and then seamlessly access it at your place of worship. Meanwhile, cue lists make it easy to set up scripts for your service. It’s also possible for presentation operators to change the script during the presentation for extra flexibility.

The tool integrates with plenty of other tools that are useful for worship presentations. Connect to Music Stand to share set lists between platforms. Or connect with SongSelect to import worship song lyrics into your presentation.

The tool also has a media library that includes cool motion backgrounds to add an extra flair to your presentation. And there’s a library of templates you can use to create great-looking slides quickly.

• Check out Worship Tools on their website

Specialized church presentation software

MediaShout is worship presentation software specifically designed for churches.

The tool has a presentation editor that makes it easy to display lyrics, text, announcements, or backgrounds to help elevate your sermons. Anyone who is familiar with PowerPoint will be able to get up to speed with the tools quickly.

There’s a preview mode that lets you see how your presentation looks on each of the screens it is being output to. You can also send content to the stage display to act as cues for the sermon.

There are several features that speed up the presentation creation process. You can create templates to make building new presentations and slides easy while ensuring style consistency. And you can quickly import bible verses into your slides.

MediaShout doesn’t advertise software costs, but you can call the team for more information via the website. You can also buy computer bundles where you get a computer with the software preinstalled.

• Check out MediaShout on their website

Free church presentation software

• free software

Praisenter is church presentation software with one standout feature: it’s completely free to use. The tool has plenty of features that make it a good option for churches on a budget.

First is the slides editor. It’s easy to create presentation slides and templates and then customize them to your needs. You can add video, text, images, gradients, and edit the transparency to create advanced designs.

The tool also has bible presentation features. It’s easy to search for a verse and then add it to your presentation. You can also install different bible translations, which is useful if you need the ability to run multilingual presentations.

You can also use the tool to present songs. It’s easy to add the right song lyrics to your presentation and then edit them as required.

The worship software is entirely free to use; just download it to your Mac or Windows computer.

• Check out Praisenter on their website

Tool to elevate your remote services

• 30-day free trial
• From $9.99 for a single user

Kamwise is slightly different to the other tools on this list. It’s a presentation tool that works with video conferencing tools like Zoom, Teams, or Google Meet to add extra elements to your presentation.

While not explicitly designed for places of worship, it’s useful for people who need to run remote church services.

The main feature is that it allows you to share a video of yourself alongside your presentation in a larger window than is typically enabled by video conferencing software. This allows your remote congregation to get a good view of your pastor and presentation.

The tool also has branding elements, so you can create a customized feed unique to your church. You can use the video alongside presentations made in tools like Powerpoint, Google Slides, or any app from your computer. You can also embed polls, surveys, or other content into your presentation.

• Check out KAMWISE on their website

Open-source church presentation software

• Free software

OpenLP is open-source church presentation software that helps you quickly create sermons. The tool works on any operating system and you can download as many copies as you want for free.

The tool has plenty of features to help you display songs and bible verses. Import them from third-party sources and then format them to your needs. You can even add a backing track to your presentation if you don’t have access to a live band.

You can also download and display verses from your favored version of the bible. And you can search for them by reference or even a specific phrase. You can also add videos, images, and slide shows to your presentation.

The tool has close integration with PowerPoint, so it’s possible to create a presentation on PowerPoint and then import it into OpenLP to make use of the extra features. This is useful if you’re already used to creating files using the popular presentation software.

As well as the congregation-facing presentation, the tool has a built-in stage view which you can display on any device with a web browser on your local network. The tool is free to download from the OpenLP website, and there’s even a remote app for iOS and Android.

• Check out OpenLP on their website

Presentation software with collaboration features

• Proclaim pricing starts at $19.99 per month for the basic package or $29.99 per month for the Pro package

Faithlife Proclaim is presentation software designed for churches. It contains all your need to quickly create sermons your congregation will love.

The tool stands out due to its collaboration features. Anyone can download the software and edit the presentations they have access to. All changes are synced in the cloud and reflected across anyone in your team. It’s also possible to add unlimited collaborators so everyone can work on the presentation.

It’s also easy to adapt presentations for multiple uses, for example, people on and offstage. You can reformat the same slides rather than creating an entirely new presentation. What’s more, you can create and reuse templates, so you don’t have to start from scratch every week.

The tool has a built-in church media library, including images, graphics, and backgrounds you can use to build great-looking presentations. You can also integrate the tool with song libraries like SongSelect or WorshipPlanning to quickly import songs into your presentation. And you can also add bible verses to the presentation in real-time.

• Check out FaithLife on their website

Shift Worship

Media library for churches

• $149 per year for unlimited downloads. To access files editable on third-party platforms and the DropBox integration, you’ll need the Pro plan, which starts at $249 per year. You can also buy individual files for a one-off fee.

Shift Worship is a media library made to enhance church presentations. It isn’t projection software, but can help make your projections more engaging.

The service offers a wide variety of content, including motion and still backgrounds, countdowns, movies, social media files, and even media for triple-wide presentations. Each piece of media is well-designed, available in various definitions up to 4k, and is optimized for your projections.

You also get access to a quick editor which lets you modify the text, positioning, fade, layout, colors, and design. It’s easy to use and can cut the time it takes to make projection files. The tool has a DropBox integration, so you can easily download collections in a single click, and each collection comes with files you can edit in After Effects, Photoshop, or social media platforms.

• Check out Shift Worship on their website

Presentation Manager

Church projection software with intuitive features

Presentation Manager is projection software designed for churches. It uses a drag-and-drop interface, making it easy to make changes in real-time during a service.

Like the best church presentation software, the tool has a built-in library of songs and bibles you can easily import into your sermon. And you can choose from two different bible translations, which is helpful if you have a multilingual congregation.

You can also choose to overlay text to live video or movie files. Or you can select a folder of images and have the tool play these images as if it were a video. The tool has a background editor you can use to easily edit your background to ensure text shows up clearly.

It’s possible to set up two presentation streams to display on different projectors and you can preview each presentation. Use one for your congregation and one for people on the stage.

Another highlight is that you can run the tool directly from a memory stick without installing the program. This is useful if you tend to perform sermons on multiple computers.

• Check out Presentation Manager on their website

ProPresenter

Professional live production software

• 14-day free trial
• You also have the option to rent the software for a one-time event for $99.

ProPresenter is live production and presentation software with plenty of features that make it a good choice for churches.

For starters, it’s easy to create and run presentations. The editor is a joy to use and includes plenty of options for customizing presentations to your needs.

The tool also stands out when projecting. It has a multi-screen mode, which lets you output different content combinations to different screens. For example, you could have a separate feed for the audience and for presenters.

ProPresenter has plenty of video features. You can import videos into your presentation and set which points you want to play. You also have access to editing features such as cropping and the ability to add effects to help you create captivating presentations. You can even add live video to your presentations.

The tool is cross-platform, which means it works on both Mac and Windows devices. You can also access mobile apps for iOS and Android.

• Check out ProPresenter on their website

The 10 Best Church Projection Software Summary

Compare Software Specs Side by Side

Use our comparison chart to review and evaluate software specs side-by-side.

Other Options

Here are a few more church projection software that didn’t make the top list.

Free presentation software

Easy-to-use presentations software for Apple devices

Check out our list of the best church streaming software for more tools.

Comparison Criteria

What do I look for when I select the best church projection solution? Here’s a summary of my evaluation criteria: 

• User Interface (UI) : I look for a clean user interface that provides easy access to all the features you need. Intuitive church presentation editors are a big plus point. 
• Usability : The tool needs to be easy to use for everyone involved in the sermon projection process.
• Integrations : Look for tools that integrate with bible or song libraries. Some tools also connect with your church's other tools, such as PowerPoint and DropBox.
• Value for $ : The tools on this list cover all price points, including free!

Church Projection Tool Key Features

Here is a look at all the key features to look for when choosing church projection software and why they matter. 

• Presentation editor : This enables you to create and edit presentations. Look for the ability to add images, text, video, and customize the design.  
• Multi-screen output : Show different versions of the same presentation on different projectors. A common use case is showing one to your congregation and one to the people on stage. 
• Song and bible integration : Quickly search for or add songs or bible verses to your presentation. Look for the ability to use multiple translations if needed. 
• Content libraries : Quickly add media, backgrounds, and images to your presentations. 
• Live preview and editing : Look for the ability to preview and edit upcoming content during the service.
• Cloud storage : Cloud-based tools allow you and other church leaders to access your presentations anywhere with an internet connection. You can also collaborate on presentations simultaneously. 
• Templating : This allows you to save your best presentations as templates and reuse them as needed. It means you don’t have to create new presentations from scratch every week, which is essential when you consider 47% of people who design their own decks say that doing so takes over 8 hours.

What do you think about this list?

The church projection software on this list cover a wide range of use cases. Churches that create large-scale live productions will benefit from professional church projection software. 

Churches that operate on a smaller scale can choose one of the other tools to create professional presentations on a smaller budget. 

For more about leading your church, sign-up for The Lead Pastor newsletter .

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10 stunning Moscow churches that will leave you awe-inspired

Church of the Sign of the Blessed Virgin in Dubrovitsy

1. Novodevichy Convent

This is a really picturesque place with a park and pond with ducks nearby and eight churches all worth visiting. The convent is UNESCO listed as an example of Moscow baroque. It was founded in 1524 - before the Romanov dynasty - and was used as a center for negotiations during Russia's Time of Troubles in the late 16th and early 17th century. If you happen to be in Moscow for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, this is an easy side tour, as it's really close to the Luzhniki stadium. The main and oldest cathedral in the convent is devoted to the Our Lady of Smolensk icon. And when you enter the convent through the main gates, look up – there's another church right above your head.

2. Church of St. Nicholas in Khamovniki

About 20 minutes' walk from the Novodevichy Convent, not far from Park Kultury metro station, there is a church devoted to St. Nicholas, more often called by the Russian Orthodox church, Nikolai the Wonderworker. He is one of the most revered saints in Russia. 

This beautiful church of Nikolai, which looks more like a gingerbread house than a place of worship, is an example of the so-called Moscow decorative style, or Moscow ornamentalism. It's an architectural style of first half of the 17th century (which in later buildings will be displaced by Moscow baroque).

The main relic of the church is the icon of Our Lady Refuge of Sinners.

3. Nativity Convent

Rozhdestvensky (Nativity) Convent was founded in the 1380s even before ancient Russia was united in the memory of those who were killed during the great Kulikovo Battle. The monastery is said to have been first situated in Moscow's Kremlin, but later moved to its current location, from which its takes its name – Rozhdestvenka street and Rozhdestvensky Boulevard.  Soviet authorities closed the convent in 1922 and for 70 years the ancient clerical buildings served as offices, scientific laboratories, canteens and other Soviet needs. There were plans to turn it into an architectural museum, but in 1992 it was returned to monastic work.

There are several nice churches inside like The Nativity church built in the early 16th century, or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan, built 1904-1906 in an Old-Moscow style. The interior of this church is rather unusual, with sweeping star-studded images rising towards its broadly arched ceiling. Church services usually take place at weekends.

4. St. Clement's Church

Tightly hemmed in by other buildings, this red brick church is situated in narrow little Klimentovsky Lane. It is hard to believe that this was once the only stone structure in the area. It’s the biggest church of the Zamoskvorechye district of Moscow and is really beautiful. The cathedral was built and rebuilt during the 18th century in Moscow's ‘Elizabeth’ baroque style.

Like many other churches, St. Clement’s was closed during Soviet times and was used as a book depository for the Lenin State Library. It was returned to the church in 2008 and restoration work began in 2014. The cathedral is situated next to Tretyakovskaya metro station, and it’s really convenient to drop into when visiting the Tretyakov Gallery.

5. Church of St. Gregory of Neocaesarea

Another red painted cathedral on Bolshaya Polyanka street (a minute's walk from Polyanka metro station and 15 minutes' walk from St. Clement’s church), is really unique – just look at those three rows of lacy Kokoshnik decorations and five onion domes set upon windowless bricked arches (which are really rare). There are crowns on the crosses, which means that the church was built by order of the tsar. And this church was really beloved by many Romanovs.

In this church the second Romanov tsar, Alexei, married his wife Natalya, and later their son, the future tsar Peter the Great, is said to have been baptized here.

In the 1930s the church was closed, the iconostas damaged and a local priest repressed; church services were only revived here in 1996. The church has several revered relics, such as details of saints and remains of ancient icons – while the local chorus is something really worth listening to, even if you are not religious.

6. Nativity Church at Putinki

If you have seen Red Square, the red Kremlin walls and red walls of St. Basil’s (or those red churches, mentioned above), we are sure your eyes need a little rest, so here is a cozy and nice white church on Malaya Dmitrovka street, not far from Tverskaya street. The attribution “Putinki” has nothing in common with the Russian president, it refers to the word ‘put’ (a road), as 17th century ambassadors stayed nearby on their way to Russia’s northern cities.

The cathedral is really special inside: small and dark, it has nothing in common with the golden pomp of some modern churches. On the ancient icons you can see jewelry – all of which was donated by the parish. Actors of the Lenkom theater, which is located next door, are frequent visitors. We advise you to visit the theater (but better only if you know a little Russian).

7. Our Lady of the Sign cathedral in Kuntsevo

In the 18th century Alexander Naryshkin, a cousin of Peter the Great and representative of an old noble family who owned an estate at Kuntsevo, built a church here. In the early 20th century, a decision was taken to completely rebuild the church in the (rare for those times) Neo-Byzantine style. The current “basilica” was opened in 1913, but like so many other churches, closed in the 1930s by Soviet authorities and heavily damaged. It was re-opened in 1991 and now does a lot of outreach with young people and has a parish Sunday school.

It’s worth not only visiting the church, but also taking a walk around picturesque Filyovsky park. Though the Naryshkin estate is now closed, there is a nice café Usadba (“estate”) where you can get a bite afterwards. Pionerskaya metro station (blue line, 20 minutes ride from the center) is not far away.

8. Ascension church in Kolomenskoye

Kolomenskoye park is a great place to walk and it will make you feel like a Russian boyar of the 16th century. It was Ivan the Terrible's father, Vasily III who allocated funds for building the church in 1528-32. Legend says that building a new house of God was Vasily's prayer for his wife to give birth to a son. Other sources say it was done in gratitude for the fact that Ivan was born.

Of course, the current image of the church is not the same as 500 years ago, the cathedral was rebuilt and restored many times. But still, even within the last century, interesting details have been revealed, such as the so-called “tsar’s place” or remains of the northern gateways. Anyway, just feeling the spirit of those times is magnificent.

9. Our Lady of Vladimir church in Bykovo

For a very unusual clerical experience, it is necessary to go further afield, into the Moscow Region. This church looks like a gothic castle from the movie Beauty and the Beast. It was built on the territory of the Vorontsov-Dashkov estate, now abandoned, but still a very interesting place to walk around. Some experts say that the church is reminiscent of the style of famous architect Vasily Bazhenov, who built Tsaritsyno Park and Pashkov House in Moscow.

Inside the church is really small and not very impressive; restoration work is still underway inside and out.

10. Church of the Sign of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Dubrovitsy

Stunning views of this church will just take your breath away (see the cover photo). If not for the cross on top, you would probably never imagine that it’s an Orthodox church. Inside the church is no less great, with frescos right up to the cupola (don’t twist your neck staring at it).

The church is situated on the banks of Pakhra river and there is a great park nearby. This is also one of the most popular places for weddings in the Moscow Region (and the registration office is just a minute's walk from the church).

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Early History

In the December 1812 manifesto, Tsar Alexander declared the cathedral would “…signify Our gratitude to Divine Providence for saving Russia from the doom that overshadowed Her and to preserve the memory of the unheard of efforts, loyalty, and love for our faith and homeland displayed during these difficult days by the Russian people…” While planning for the cathedral began as Napoleon and his army retreated from Russia its completion was decades later.

Under a plan by the architect Vitberg an initial start of the construction of cathedral began on October 12 , 1817 with laying and blessing of the cornerstone. The site chosen was on Sparrow Hills between the Smolensk and Kaluga roads. The site, however, was found to be unstable and not suitable for the planned structure. As alternatives were considered Alexander was succeeded by his brother Nicholas I who had different architectural preferences. Konstantin A. Ton presented a second plan that placed the cathedral on a different site on the bank of the Moscow River that was occupied by the Aleksevevsky Convent and the Church of All Saints. The new plan was approved by Nicholas I on April 10 , 1832.

After moving the convent to Sokolniki, construction of the Cathedral began on September 10 , 1839 with the laying of the cornerstone. Construction of the huge structure continued for forty years. By 1841, the walls of the lower level were completed, followed by the joining of the arch of the main cupola in 1846. Covered by scaffolding, work continued on the exterior facing of the building and a start was made on construction of the metal roofs and lesser cupolas. The main cupola was completed in 1849. In 1860, the scaffolding was removed and the Cathedral was revealed for the first time in all its glory.

Construction continued on details of the structure while areas around the Cathedral, including riverbank terraces and squares, were completed. By 1881 the major construction was finished, including a bronze balustrade and exterior lanterns. Work on the interior frescoes continued for another twenty years. The Cathedral was formally named the Cathedral of Christ the Savior on December 13 , 1880, when the priests and other clergy were also assigned to it for the first time. The Cathedral was consecrated on Ascension Day, May 26 , 1883, the day that Tsar Alexander III was crowned. Chapels , located in the upper gallery, were dedicated to Ss. Nicholas and Alexander Nevsky , on June 12 and July 8 , 1883 respectively.

The design of the cathedral followed that of ancient Russian churches that were built in the Byzantine style. It differed in having a more regular shape and was lighter in form. The cathedral contained a number of altars . The staff of the Cathedral was relatively small; the rector , an assistant rector, three priests, one protodeacon , two deacons , two subdeacons , four readers , two sextons, twelve bell-ringers, one baker (who made prosphora ), and the choir. Among the leaders of the choir were the famous composers A. A. Arkhangelsky and P. G. Chesnokov.

In the following years services were held regularly. Among the important events marked in the Cathedral were the 500th anniversary of the death of St. Sergius of Radonezh , the 100th anniversary of the war of 1812, the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty, and consecration of memorials to Tsar Alexander III and Nicholas Gogol. The opening session of the council of 1917-1918 , that reinstated the patriarchate in the Russian Church, was held in the Cathedral. The Cathedral became the center for education and enlightenment.

After the assumption of governmental power by the Bolsheviks, the Cathedral was eventually closed. The site that it was on, as well as for ideological reasons, became an important factor in Bolshevik urban planning. Their plans entailed construction of a grandiose Palace of Soviets on the site topped with a statue of Vladimir Illich Ulyanov (Lenin) as a symbol of socialist victory and the leader of world proletariat. On December 5 , 1931 destruction of the Cathedral began under direction of Joseph Vissarionovich Djugashvili (Stalin) . It was a year before the site was cleared.

The construction of the palace was hampered from the start by lack of funds, problems with the foundation soil, flooding from the nearby Moscow River, and then World War II. The hugh hole blighted the area for years until Nikita Khrushchev had the site converted into a hugh swimming pool during the 1950s.

Recent history

The political thaw of the late 1980s brought on by a period of perestroika and the fall of the Soviet Union created an opening in which the Holy Synod of the Church of Russia , led by Patriarch Alexei II , requested the government of Russia and the City of Moscow for restoration of the destroyed Cathedral. Having been given approval in February 1990, the construction of the restored Cathedral began under Aleksey Denisov replicating the original design. Ordinary citizens contributed greatly to the construction fund that was started in 1994. After construction of the restored cathedral was well under way Denisov replaced by Zurab Tsereteli who made some controversial changes to the original design.

In 1996, the lower part of the building was completed and, in 1996, the church within it was consecrated to the Transfiguration of Our Lord. The completed Cathedral of Christ the Savior was consecrated on August 19 , 2000. Monumental statues of the Tsars Alexander II and Nicholas II were placed near the Cathedral and several chapels were built on the cathedral square.

On May 17 , 2007, in the assembly hall also located in the Cathedral, the ‘‘Act of Canonical Communion between the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church and Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia’’ ( ROCOR ) was signed, restoring full communion with the Moscow Patriarchate. The reunion was celebrated by a Divine Liturgy concelebrated by Alexei II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and Metr. Laurus , First Hierarch of ROCOR.

External links

• Index - The Cathedral of Christ the Savior
• The Cathedral of Christ the Savior
• History of the Cathedral (1812-1931)
• Wikipedia:Cathedral_of_Christ_the_Saviour Moscow
• Churches in Russia

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Shooter Files by f.d. walker

Street Photography Tips, Interaction, Travel, Guides

Apr 24 2017

City Street Guides by f.d. walker: A Street Photography Guide to Moscow, Russia

*A series of guides on shooting Street Photography in cities around the world. Find the best spots to shoot, things to capture, street walks, street tips, safety concerns, and more for cities around the world. I have personally researched, explored and shot Street Photography in every city that I create a guide for. So you can be ready to capture the streets as soon as you step outside with your camera!

At over 12 million people, Moscow is the largest city in Russia and second largest in Europe by population ( Istanbul is #1). An urban, cosmopolitan metropolis with more than enough glitz and glam to cater to the elite, but without losing its fair share of Soviet era roughness around the edges. It can be fast paced, brash, busy, and trendy like other big cities, but it has its blend of West meets Russia atmosphere and beauty that provides plenty of unique interest. The Red Square is as famous as it gets, but there’s so much more to this city, including the most beautiful subway system you’ve ever seen. It would take years to capture all of Moscow, but that means you have an endless amount of areas to discover.

So here’s a Street Photography guide so you can be ready to capture all that Moscow has to offer before you even arrive!

• Patriarch’s Pond
• Old Arbat Street
• Maroseyka Street
• Tverskoy Boulevard

Top 5 Street Spots:

1. red square.

The Red Square is the most famous square in not just Russia, but all of Eastern Europe. The name actually doesn’t come from the color of the bricks or communism, but from the name in Russian, Krásnaya, once meaning “beautiful” before its meaning changed to “red.” This large plaza is what you see on the cover of guide books and magazines for Moscow, with St. Basil’s Cathedral being the center piece next to Lenin’s Mausoleum surrounded by the Kremlin Wall. Of course, the Red Square attracts hordes of tourist due to the main attractions, but all that activity around an interesting atmosphere does provide street photo opportunities. It’s also the central square connecting to the city’s major streets, providing a good starting point to explore outward.

You’ll also find the popular pedestrian only Nikolskaya Street connecting the Red Square to Lubyanka Square. This line of expensive shops includes plenty of activity, while also leading you to another popular square. Filled with history rivaling any city, the Red Square and surrounding areas are the heart and soul of Russia.

2. Patriarch’s Ponds

Patriarch’s Ponds is one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Moscow. Despite the name being plural, there’s only one large pond, but it’s worth a visit with your camera. It’s a popular spot for locals and expats to come relax or take a stroll around the pond. You get an interesting mix of young and old too, from young love to “babushkas” feeding pigeons. It’s a very peaceful park atmosphere in one of the nicer areas within the city center, while bringing enough activity for street photography. 

The pond is shallow and in the winter becomes a popular spot for ice-skating too. The area is also well-known for the location in the famous Russian novel, The Master and Margarita. 

3. Old Arbat (Stary Arbat)

Old Arbat is the most famous pedestrian street in Moscow, and dating back to the 15th century, also one of its oldest. Originally, it was an area of trade, but soon became the most prestigious residential area in Moscow. During the 18th century, Arbat started attracting the city’s scholars and artists, including Alexander Pushkin. Cafes lined the streets and impressive homes filled the neighborhood. Since then, New Arbat street was created as a highway in the area, while Old Arbat was paved for a 1km pedestrian only walkway.

Due to the historic buildings, famous artists that lived here, and the bohemian atmosphere, Old Arbat has become a big attraction for tourists today. Now, there’s a mix of cafes, restaurants, souvenir shops, street performers, street merchants and other attractions for visitors, and some locals, to come enjoy. It can get really busy here and there’s usually something interesting going on so it’s a good street to come walk with your camera for guaranteed life.

4. Gorky Park

One of the most famous places in Moscow is Gorky Park. The official name is Maxim Gorky’s Central Park of Culture & Leisure, which gives you an idea of what goes on here. When built, it was the first of its kind in the Soviet Union. Divided into two parts, it stretches along Moscow River. One end contains fair rides, foods stands, tennis courts, a sports club, a lake for boat rides, and more. This end brings more active life due to its number of attractions, while the other end is more relaxed, where you’ll find gardens, trees, older buildings, and an outdoor amphitheater.

Gorky Park attracts mostly locals so it’s a good spot to capture the non-tourist side of Moscow life. Muscovites come here to escape the city and unwind in a picturesque setting. The park remains alive outside of the warmer months too, especially when the lake turns into the city’s largest outdoor skating rink. I’d recommend taking the metro out here to spend at least half a day exploring the massive park’s life with your camera.

5. Maroseyka Street

Maroseyka Street is a popular area not too far from the Red Square. The long, winding street turns into Pokrovka and is lined with restaurants, cafes, bars and places to stay. It’s actually where I like to stay when I’m in Moscow due to its location and solid street photography opportunities itself. You have Kitay-gorod station near and if you keep walking southwest, you’ll get to the Red Square. But if you walk northwest, as it changes to Pokrovka, you can find a long street of activity for photography with its own interesting atmosphere.

6. Tverskoy Boulevard

Tverskoy Boulevard is the oldest and longest boulevard in Moscow, beginning at the end of Nikitsky Boulevard, and finishing at Pushkin Square, a spot to come for activity itself. The boulevard is made up of two avenues, with pedestrian walkways in-between. You’ll find grass, shrubbery, trees, benches and more walking it’s almost kilometer length. Many people come here to enjoy some relaxation, walk their dog, or just to use it to walk wherever they’re going. Its center location also provides a nice place to walk with your camera near plenty of other spots you’ll want to check out anyway.

Sample Street Walk:

For a full day of Street Photography, covering some of the best spots, you can follow this sample street walk for Moscow:

• Start your morning walking around the Red Square (1), while exploring the surrounding area, including Nikolskaya Street
• Then walk northwest to Patriarch’s Ponds (2) and slowly walk the pond and surrounding area with your camera
• Next, walk east to the Pushkin Monument and stroll down Tverskoy Boulevard (6)
• Once Tverskoy Boulevard (6) ends, it will turn into Nikitsky Boulevard. Follow this down until you get to the start of Old Arbat Street (3), across from Arbatskaya station
• After you’re done walking down Old Arbat Street (3) for more street photography, spend some time checking out Moscow’s beautiful metro stations
• To finish off the day with more street photography, get off the metro near Red Square (1) again, Maroseyka Street (5) or wherever you’re staying for the night.

3 Things I’ll Remember about Shooting in Moscow:

1. museum metro.

The Moscow metro system was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union and today includes 203 stations across 340km of routes. The elaborate system has some of the deepest stations in the world too, with escalators that seem to go on forever. None of this is what makes it so special, though. Many of its stations feel like stepping inside a museum, making it without a doubt the most interesting and beautiful metro system I’ve been in.

When built, Stalin wanted to make the metro stations “palaces for the people” with marble, chandeliers, and grand architecture. The best part is the variety of architecture and styles used, making many of the stations a completely different experience visually. You could easily spend a whole day traveling the stations and there are even tours available for people who wish to do just that. My advice, though, would be just to buy a ticket and hop on and off at different stations, while exploring different lines. The museum-like surrounding mixed with the crowds of characters can make for a great photography experience.

Since there are so many stations, here are some of my favorites to check out:

• Novoslobodskaya
• Mayakovskaya
• Elektrozavodskaya
• Komsomolskaya
• Ploschad Revolyutsii
• Dostoyevskaya
• Prospekt Mira

2. Moscow is Big

It’s no secret that Moscow is a big city, but it can feel even bigger with how spread out much of it is. This is especially true if you compare it to cities outside of Asia. If I compared it to cities in Europe, I’d probably say only Istanbul would warrant more time to really discover the depths of this city. Most only explore around the Red Square and surrounding area, but that is such a small part of the city. Although, that central area does give you plenty to see on its own.

Fortunately, I had a good friend living in the city to show me around, but it opened up my eyes even more to how much there is to discover in Moscow. It’s a big city with a variety of atmosphere that can take you from “east” to “west” and trendy to rugged depending on where you go. I’d imagine you’d have to live here a while to really know the city.

3. Cosmopolitan Mix of East meets West

Modern skyscrapers mixed with amazing architecture, a world-class metro system with museum-like beauty, trendy fashion and chic clubs, Moscow is a rich mix of Russian culture and history in a more western cosmopolitan package. There is a push to keep the Russian culture, while also pushing forward with a modern metropolis the whole world will envy. This comes with an impressive skyline, that continues to grow, and endless modernities, but with soviet nostalgia and atmosphere mixed in for good measure.

Mixed in with this grand western cosmopolitan atmosphere, is a strong national pride in Russia. This includes their famous leader, Vladimir Putin. Maybe no other place will you see a country’s leader more often. All over, from the pricey tourist shops to the underground walkway stalls, you’ll find goods with Putin’s likeness covering them. From t-shirts to magnets to Matryoshka dolls. There’s a strong national pride that can be seen around the city, which also extends to their leader. Moscow is many things. It’s East meets West, modernizations meets Soviet era, and a whole lot more.

What To Do For a Street Photography Break?:

Eat at a stolovaya.

Stolovayas are Russian cafeterias that became popular in the Soviet days. You grab a tray and walk down the line of freshly prepared local dishes, and select whatever you want from the chefs. They’re usually inexpensive and a much better value than restaurants, while giving you the opportunity to try from a wide selection of everyday Russian food. They’re also very tasty. I always include some borsch on my tray and go from there. The places themselves are all over Moscow and usually come with Soviet-era aesthetics to complete the experience.

Street Safety Score: 7

*As always, no place is completely safe! So when I talk about safety, I’m speaking in general comparison to other places. Always take precaution, be smart, observe your surroundings and trust your instincts anywhere you go!

Being the 2nd largest city in Europe with over 12 million people, you’re going to have your dangerous areas, but for the most part, it feels safe walking around. Russia is statistically higher in crime compared to most of Europe, but this generally doesn’t apply to tourists and visitors. Around the Red Square and surrounding city center, you should feel completely safe walking around. Pick pocketing can happen, but no more than other touristic places. I always explore Moscow freely without coming across too much to worry about. It’s a spread out city, though, so of course it matters where you are. Just use basic street smarts, know where you are and Moscow shouldn’t give you a problem. 

People’s Reaction Score: 7

Moscow is fast paced, big city life, which usually means people aren’t too concerned with you, or your camera. I don’t find people notice or pay much attention to me when I’m out taking photos in Moscow. For the most part, people just go about their day. You shouldn’t get too many looks or concern. But it can depend on the area you are in. The more you stick out, the more you might get noticed with suspicions. I’ve never had any problems in Moscow, or Russia, but just be careful who you’re taking a photo of if you get out of the city center. Other than that, it’s about average for reactions. 

Street Tips:

Learn the alphabet .

Much of Moscow, including the metro system, doesn’t use english. The Russian alphabet uses letters from the Cyrillic script, which if you aren’t familiar with it and don’t know the sounds, can be hard to decipher the words. This is most important for street names and metro stops when trying to get around. It can save confusion and make it easier getting around if you learn the basic alphabet. At the very least then, you can sound out the words to see which are similar in the english conversion, which can help matching them to maps. When out shooting street photography, getting around is as important as anything. So save yourself some time and frustration by learning the Russian Alphabet.

Use the metro

While Saint-Petersburg feels very walkable for a city its size, Moscow can feel very spread out, even for its bigger size. Outside of the Red Square area, you can have plenty of walking before getting anywhere very interesting, so you’ll need to take the metro a lot if you really want to explore the city. Maps are deceiving here too, it will always be further than it looks.

Another reason it’s less walkable than Saint-Petersburg is its completely different set-up. Moscow’s streets are mostly contstructed in rings with narrow, winding streets in-between. This is common with medieval city cities that used to be confined by walls, but you usually don’t have it in a city this massive. Saint-Petersburg has a more grid-like pattern that also uses the canals to help you know your way around. When it comes to navigating on foot in Moscow, it can be more difficult, so bring a map and take the metro when needed. It’s why Moscow’s metro carries more passengers per day than the London and Paris subways combined.

Explore other areas if you have time

Moscow is really big. While most people stay around the Red Square within the Boulevard Ring, there’s so much more to the city. I covered some other spots outside of this circle, but if you really want to see the city, you’ll need time. If you do have time, some other areas I’d check out first are Zamoskvarechye, along some of the south and western Moscow.

Inspiration:

For some more inspiration, you can look through the Street Photography of Moscow photographer Artem Zhitenev  and check out 33 of my photos taken in Moscow .

Conclusion:

Moscow’s name brings a certain mystique, but once you’re there it might bring a different atmosphere than you expect. It’s big and sprawling, but beautiful in many ways. It can feel like a European capital on a grand scale, but you can definitely find its Russian side in there.

The urban sprawl of Moscow can be intimidating, but give it enough time and you’ll be rewarded with plenty to discover. All with the world’s best metro system to take you around.

I hope this guide can help you start to experience some of what Moscow contains. So grab your camera and capture all that Moscow has to offer for Street Photography!

If you still have any questions about shooting in Moscow, feel free to comment below or email me!

(I want to make these guides as valuable as possible for all of you so add any ideas on improvements, including addition requests, in the comment section!)

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