For Churches | Northern Plains

Resources for Churches

We project lyrics onto the screen during worship, do we need a license?

We broadcast our worship service live on Facebook, do we need a license?

We photocopy sheet music for our choir members, do we need a license?

Churches must always have permission to distribute lyrics and sheet music for copyrighted songs, including during worship services. Purchasing and using hymnals is one way to comply with the copyright law—the cost of licensing for the lyrics and sheet music is included in the cost of hymnals. However, owning hymnals does not grant the church permission to project lyrics onto slides or make photocopies of the hymnal pages. Additional licensing will be required for that kind of use.

Churches that broadcast, stream, or post recordings of their worship and other activities should be aware of copyright issues.
The Religious Service Exemption in US Copyright law allows churches to play and perform music during religious services, but this exemption does NOT cover the re-transmission or live broadcast of those services over the internet. The law extends only to in-person performances. A license will be required to play, perform, or otherwise use copyrighted material in a live broadcast or recording.

If your ministry has any questions about whether your use of copyrighted materials is legal or not, we suggest obtaining an opinion from a licensed attorney with experience in intellectual property law.

What software program is best for our church to use?

Software programs are great for keeping track of member's information, sending out churchwide emails, organizing service groups, creating a budget, tracking expenses, and recording giving information. They can also assist with church payroll, employee tax statements, and donor's end of the year giving statements.

Our Presbytery encompasses churches with memberships ranging from single digits to several hundreds. Churches in our Presbytery use a variety of software programs depending on their needs but you will find several of our tried and true recommendations on the next tab.