17 Reasons Your Church Should Switch To ProPresenter

The current leader in church presentation software by a large margin continues to be ProPresenter. If your church has yet to make the switch, you should consider what advantages it may bring to your church to improve the visitor experience and make your volunteers’ lives easier.

ProPresenter is a powerful presentation software specifically designed for use in churches. Here are 17 reasons why churches should consider using ProPresenter:

1. ProPresenter Is Easy to Use

The first time opening up ProPresenter can be an incredibly intimidating experience. The program looks somewhat like familiar programs like PowerPoint or Keynote but has significantly more capabilities. Learning how to set everything up ahead of a church service is a slow process that requires time.

Once you have ProPresenter up and running, however, the user interface (UI) is incredibly intuitive and user-friendly, even for volunteers that have minimal experience doing church media. The UI is simple to use and was developed with church volunteers in mind. The developers have also created tutorial videos specifically for church volunteers that have little preexisting experience with ProPresenter.

2. It Supports Multiple File Types

ProPresenter is able to handle all sorts of file types that you throw at it. It can import song lyrics, display photos and videos, as well as play several different tracks of audio in different places. For sermon slides, ProPresenter is also able to import PowerPoint or Keynote slides easily.

If you use ProPresenter on multiple computers, you are able to export slides/presentation easily from ProPresenter and import them onto another device easily. You can even do this across operating systems (Mac to PC)!

3. It Has Live Video Integration

Many larger churches will have a live video feed displayed throughout their building or on the stage during their worship services. ProPresenter is able to help with this easily.

You can connect many video switchers that are receiving a camera feed to your computer and send the signal directly into ProPresenter. This allows you to display the video feed along with any overlay graphics, such as lyrics or sermon notes, for your audience to see. These capabilities are also incredibly useful for live streaming your services.

4. It Is Customizable

ProPresenter is an incredibly powerful program that can be heavily customized to suit your church’s needs. The software allows users to customize their presentations according to their needs, including adding church logos, backgrounds, and more. With nearly unlimited display outputs and 16-channel audio available, the possibilities are endless!

ProPresenter also has a slide editor within the program, so you can design worship lyric templates, sermon slides, and announcement images all within the program itself. If you do not want to use their editor, you can import a variety of file types into ProPresenter instead.

5. It Has Multi-Screen Support

One of the main reasons people use ProPresenter is the way it is able to handle multiple displays. The program allows you to generate as many types of displays as you need (limited by your computer’s RAM & GPU), allowing you to have a main display, a confidence display, a live stream display, and more, all running simultaneously. It also allows you to have multiple projectors or monitors linked to each display type.

Perhaps the best part of this feature is that with a little preparation, you can have these displays autogenerate. Meaning you will not have to design each individual slide several times per each display type. Instead, you simply instruct ProPresenter where each image or line of text belongs on each display type, and it will apply the look to all slides in your service automatically. For longer services with plenty of songs, this is a massive time saver!

6. It Is Reliable

The software has been tested and proven to be reliable, ensuring that it does not crash or experience technical difficulties during church services. As a professional presentation software, ProPresenter has a strong commitment to ensuring all updates are incredibly stable releases that will not cause any crashing during your live service. Overall, users can expect ProPresenter to be incredibly reliable and not to crash or experience any bugs during their services.

With any program, crashing and bugs can occur. However, in my experience, most of these issues are caused by the computer itself rather than the program. It is important to ensure that your computer has sufficient computing power to perform all of the tasks that you would like it to do.

For example, asking ProPresenter to render multiple different display types will strain your RAM and GPU more than rendering a single display. While ProPresenter will allow you to render unlimited display outputs, it is good to be aware of how much you are straining your computer while using it live.

7. It Allows for Quick Editing

ProPresenter allows for quick editing of presentations, which can be useful in situations where last-minute changes need to be made. Edits are able to be made mid-presentation as well. This can be useful if you notice a typo on an upcoming slide or a pastor has a last-minute revision to one of their slides or lyrics.

To edit a slide during a presentation, simply just switch to the “Edit” tab at the top of the screen, and then select the slide you wish to edit. Be aware that you are unable to edit a slide “live” while it is being presented on any displays. For changes to come into effect, you must switch to another slide and then revert back to the newly revised slide.

8. It Has Social Media Integration

The software can integrate social media feeds, allowing churches to display social media content during services. For example, if many members at your church regularly use Twitter, you can display any Tweets directly within ProPresenter. For Live Tweeting, you could have a lower third pop-up throughout the service so the audience can interact with each other in real-time!

Unfortunately, Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, has recently blocked the ability of third-party applications such as ProPresenter from exporting any user data from their services. As such, ProPresenter is now unable to pull any posts from these websites.

9. It Has Audio Integration

ProPresenter can be integrated with audio systems, making it easy to play audio files during church services. You have two primary ways of utilizing ProPresenter for audio – playing audio files (i.e. mp3 or m4a), or playing live audio from external sources.

Just like importing images or videos, you are able to add as many audio files as needed directly into ProPresenter. For example, if you play background music before and after your services, you can do so directly within ProPresenter. Or, if you played prerecorded music for some worship songs in lieu of a live team, ProPresenter can help facilitate that as well.

ProPresenter also has the ability to receive up to 16 channels of live audio from an external source. Whether it is a single microphone or a full band, ProPresenter will be able to receive and distribute these audio channels seamlessly to your desired outputs. Note that the program has very limited ability in processing the audio. Meaning, you can not adjust things like EQ, compressors, or limiters on your audio channels within ProPresenter. The only abilities ProPresenter has is adjusting gain and panning audio.

10. It Supports Remote Control

The software can be integrated with mobile apps, allowing churches to control their presentations from their mobile devices. Renewed Vision has developed an app for both iOS and Android that allows volunteers or staff to control their live presentations remotely. Using the app, however, does not lock the computer from being able to control or edit the presentation. So, if you would like to alternate between using the app or the computer throughout the service, you can do so with ease.

This can be particularly helpful for a pastor that wishes to change sermon slides himself rather than relying on tech volunteers. All he would need to do is download the app to his phone. Tech volunteers would still be able to edit slides while the pastor uses the app too. So, if they notice a typo on a sermon slide, they could fix it before anyone even sees it. After the sermon, volunteers will seamlessly be able to take back control of the presentation on the main computer or another mobile device.

11. It Looks Professional

ProPresenter allows all churches that use it to make incredibly professional-looking designs and productions. In fact, many big churches that make their live services available on cable TV and online use ProPresenter! The software’s built-in editor allows your tech team to make professional-looking designs and can make variations of each design to fit each display type well (e.g. in-house vs. online).

If you do not want to make your own artwork, groups like Church Media Graphics (CMG) exist to help provide you with premade ProPresenter designs for sermon notes, lyrics, and announcement slides. CMG has both free and paid designs for you to choose from.

The program also helps make transitions work seamlessly. By adding “actions” and “macros” to individual slides, you can automate a variety of components to your service, such as lighting, and on-screen display styles, and rearrange your confidence monitor for the various people on stage. All of this can be scheduled and automated ahead of time to make sure everything stays queued for the right time – and it gives your tech teams much less to worry about.

12. It Supports Multiple Languages

ProPresenter supports multiple languages, making it easy for churches to display content in different languages and enables staff and volunteers alike to use the program in their native language. Currently, ProPresenter is available to use in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Korean, Norwegian, Czech, Chinese (simplified), and Russian. By default, ProPresenter will use the language that your operating system is running. If your operating system is not an available language, ProPresenter will default to English.

To change languages on Mac, simply open your System Preferences app. Then, go to “Language & Region,” and click on “Apps.” Lastly, click the “+” symbol and select ProPresenter and your desired language. Don’t forget to click save!

On PC, you can change the language ProPresenter uses within the program itself. Simply navigate to “Preferences,” then “General.” At the bottom, you can switch your language from default to your desired language.

13. It Has Live Stream Integration

Churches continue to recognize the incredible value of live streaming their services online so they are more accessible for their members and are able to reach more people in their community. ProPresenter is able to make live streaming an incredibly simple process. ProPresenter is designed with live streaming in mind, being able to handle multiple live video feeds, as well as multiple stereo audio channels. All this combined makes it easy to create a professional-looking live stream.

ProPresenter has also teamed up with live distributor, Resi. Resi makes it easy for churches to send their services to multiple websites such as YouTube, Facebook, and other social media platforms. Resi has its own dedicated servers that help limit any lagging due to poor internet connection in the church.

14. It’s Easy to Use for Collaboration

ProPresenter allows users to download the program onto as many devices as they need for free. However, you must have a license key to be able to present with the software.

What this means is that pastors and volunteers are able to download ProPresenter onto their own computers to develop presentation decks. For example, the teaching pastor could make his own sermon slides on their own computer while the worship pastor sets up all of the lyrics slides on their own computer. Once finished, everyone can email their slides to the lead tech person for them to import them into the ProPresenter that is used for live services.

This process makes it incredibly simple for to multiple people to contribute to a Sunday morning’s slide deck without everyone needing access to the same computer. It also takes the burden off of your tech teams from creating every single slide for each Sunday, allowing others to help out as well.

15. It Has Multi-Platform Support

After purchasing a license to use ProPresenter, you are able to download it onto either a Windows PC or an Apple computer running MacOS. If you ever make the switch from PC to Mac (or vice-versa), your license key is valid for both platforms.

Prior to ProPresenter 7, users were required to pick a PC or Mac prior to purchasing. If you wanted to switch between PC and Mac, you would need to own two separate licenses – one for PC and one for Mac. Luckily this is no longer the case for new buyers.

It is important to note that ProPresenter can only run on PCs that have Windows 10 (64-bit) or newer, or on MacOS 10.15 or newer.

ProPresenter does not currently support Linux-based operating systems.

16. It Has Strong Technical Support

Renewed Vision, the developed of ProPresenter, has a very strong support system. Their website includes free tutorials to help set up the program as well as help resolve any challenges that may arise.

If you are unable to resolve the problem on your own, you can reach out to Renewed Vision via email, chat, or phone. You are typically able to get a response within one business day for most problems. Urgent issues right before an event have been known to get a response within the hour!

Beware that access to the Renewed Vision support team requires a ProPresenter+ membership, which is currently priced at $179 per year. Without this subscription, you will have to rely on free resources like their tutorials to resolve any challenges.

17. It Supports On-Screen Alerts

Many churches that have a Sunday School program for their kids struggle to develop a consistent way to retrieve parents/guardians during a service if needed. ProPresenter has developed a way to solve this problem. The program allows the tech team to display “on-screen messages” that appear in a corner of the screen. Often this is a number associated with a child to prompt a parent to head back to the Sunday School classrooms to assist their child. This could also work for a license plate of a car that has its alarm going off in the parking lot.

Many programs such as PowerPoint completely lack this capability. It is an incredible way to alert audience members without being disruptive to the overall service.