Proclaim – A Unique Approach to Worship Presentation

Over the years, I have used most of the Church Presentation Software programs. Each has their strengths and weaknesses, but they all help churches communicate more effectively using video screens. I have spent the last few days trying out the latest version of Proclaim, the Church Presentation Software by FaithLife. It’s an interesting program, and I think it would work well for some churches, although it’s not for everyone. The new sermon audio feature is also interesting and worth a look. It’s something that no other program is currently doing.

Here are a few of the features that really stood out, but first watch this quick overview.

User Interface

Proclaim is positioned as an all-in-one solution. You can get a subscription that includes media that you can use, both images and videos are included. The interface is simple, and it has a quick learning curve. I really didn’t need any tutorials to understand how it works. Everything is self-explanatory, so I think it would work well for churches with volunteer tech teams.

Integration

It includes integrations with SongSelect, Planning Center Online, Elvanto, Graceway Media, and Logos. I easily imported our service and songs from Planning Center Online. It also automatically pulled in all the lyrics from SongSelect without any problems. One of the more powerful features is the integration with the Faithlife or Logos Bible mobile apps. You can poll the audience and synchronize Bible verses on your congregation’s mobile devices.

On Screen Bible

Proclaim includes a really neat feature to display Bible verses, either on the fly or in advance. The On Screen Bible displays with great transitions and effects. To me, this really separates Proclaim from the other worship presentations solutions.

Collaboration

Proclaim allows multiple people to login and setup the service. The worship leader can add songs, the ministry leaders can add announcements, and the pastor can add sermon notes. For some churches, this is a great solution.

Pricing

Proclaim offers a 30-day free trial and flexible pricing options based on your church size. They do operate on a subscription basis, which might be a turn-off for some churches. But in comparison, the updates for other programs typically aren’t free, so the cost is comparable, even cheaper for smaller churches.

Audio Recording

This is a new feature, and I’m not sure what I think. In some ways, this could really be a huge time-saver for some churches. You can run a feed from your soundboard to your computer, and it will automatically record the sermon audio for you, and it will include the corresponding image slides. You can then embed the sermons in your website. This could be a great solution for a church that is using a website solution like SquareSpace that doesn’t integrate sermons. This feature is really cool, but it also locks you into their ecosystem. I like keeping control of the audio files and the podcast feed, so that you are not locked into a specific company. If you do use Proclaim’s podcast feed, I would definitely recommend running it through feedburner in case you ever change solutions in the future. It’s really hard to delete Podcasts from iTunes. Here is the video that shows how it all works.

Power

I’ve been a ProPresenter user for the last several years, and I have enjoyed having many advanced features at our disposal. Proclaim isn’t in the same category, but it’s really geared toward a different audience. ProPresenter also has a much steeper learning curve for the person who is setting up the schedule each week. Both Proclaim and ProPresenter are easy to use on Sunday morning, so your volunteer operators wouldn’t have trouble with either one.  I will say that Proclaim wasn’t as responsive and fast as I am used to.

Conclusion

I’m impressed by Proclaim. I have recommended it to several churches, and they all seem to like it. For us, ProPresenter is a better fit, but I’m glad there are many options. With their 30 day free trial, you have nothing to lose. Check it out and see if it fits your ministry.

Mike

I am a former design engineer who now pastors Cornerstone Community Church in Galax, Virginia. I'm passionate about following Jesus and I love technology. I've been married to Jennifer for 28 years, and we have three adult children.

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1 Response

  1. November 10, 2015

    […] Michael Morris posted a very informative review of FaithLife’s Proclaim worship presentation softw… […]

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