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Presentation software: It's not just for PowerPoint anymore. As the NFL says, on any given Sunday, anything can happen—and now it usually does, on video.

From the moment attendees arrive at church, they can be greeted with weekly announcements on video screens throughout the campus, led in song with the aid of lyric projection in the sanctuary, and directed to further spiritual growth by picking up a videotape of the service as they leave. And presentation software can be behind it all, making it easier to bring continuity to each Sunday.

Trends usually follow the same pattern; what was once a rarity eventually becomes commonplace. In the North American church community, a trend in technology typically germinates in a megachurch or alternative worship environment, is absorbed and refined by progressive worship leaders, and ultimately adopted by mainline denominations for everyday use. Video presentation software has closely followed this path. Early users were often chided for bringing office-based PowerPoint slides into the church. But those "pioneers" have been vindicated by the effectiveness of the medium in improving retention and enjoyment of the message. Today, it is as common to see song lyrics and sermon notes projected onto video screens in small, rural churches as it is in mega ones.

While Microsoft's ubiquitous PowerPoint package will certainly work in church, it is not always the best solution for the needs of most congregations. To better serve the church market, several products are now available that address the unique requirements of projection in the worship environment. Each package is loaded with various features; finding the most appropriate features requires a definition of the church's goals and a clear understanding of the package benefits that best meet those goals.

While it's easy to be wowed by the technology of presentation software, a church should have a clear and compelling reason for integrating that technology into its situation. Some of the right reasons include: the desire to increase comprehension and recall of lyrics and sermons; the need to include material not available in a printed form; and a passion to break down the wall between traditional and contemporary services by developing a common medium for all content.

Large screen text with a pleasing background can free parishioners from the need to find and hold a hymnal page, while focusing everyone's attention on the platform area. Movie and TV clips can deliver a point in seconds that would require several minutes of verbal communication effort. Simultaneous presentation of varying biblical translations can convey text usage in a fresh, concise manner.

You can do all this with presentation software. But where to start? There's a myriad of software choices available. To ease the selection task, here is a list of the most popular choices and a few new packages that are sure to become future classics.

Prologue Sunday Plus. If you've been to a Promise Keepers or Maranatha Music event, you have seen this package in action. Designed as a lyric display package with excellent background integration, Sunday Plus is the latest version in a line of products with an impressive heritage. According to spokesperson Lou Douros, Prologue's long suit is its ease of use. At the Maranatha Worship Leader Workshops, it is quite common to see a local church volunteer running the lyrics for the Praise Band after just a few minutes of instruction.

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