Digital signage for churches puts announcements, service times, events and notices on screens in the lobby and hallways. Volunteers keep the content in Google Slides or PowerPoint, and Screenbird plays it. Teammates are included at no extra cost, and the price is EUR 12 per screen per month billed annually.
This guide covers lobby, hallway and notice-board screens: the content that runs on a loop between and around services.
What the screens do in a church
- Announce the week. Service times, a welcome slide, the coffee rota and next month's events run in a loop on the lobby screen.
- Show the service schedule. A simple order of the day tells visitors where to go and when the children's group starts.
- Promote events. Posters for a concert, a youth evening or a volunteer day replace paper on the notice board.
- Share notices. Prayer requests, thank-you messages and building notices rotate with the rest of the content, as long as the people named have agreed to appear.
- Show lyrics or readings only from a source you hold. A screen plays the slides or text that you give it. Song lyrics are usually protected by copyright, so check with the licensing body in your country before showing them.
- Follow the building's hours. Screens switch on for Sunday morning and off again during the week.
How to set it up
- Choose the screens. Most churches start with the lobby and one hallway. A TV with an HDMI input and a small stick is enough. The page on the best media players for digital signage lists the options.
- Make one announcements deck. Build it in Google Slides or PowerPoint with one idea per slide and large type. The table below links Screenbird's guides for showing a Slides deck and a PowerPoint file on a TV.
- Add a calendar for events. Put events in a shared Google Calendar so the screen and the website can use the same dates.
- Plan the loops. Give the Sunday morning loop its own playlist and let a weekday loop play the rest of the week.
- Set the power schedule. Switch screens on and off with the building's hours. This works on supported players.
- Name the volunteers. Add each volunteer as a teammate, and agree who may publish and who only prepares slides.
What to show and where the data comes from
| Source | What it shows | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Google Slides | The weekly announcements deck, welcome slides and event posters | how to display Google Slides on a TV |
| PowerPoint | A deck prepared in PowerPoint, such as a seasonal series or a welcome loop | how to display PowerPoint on a TV |
| Google Calendar | Upcoming events, room use and the month ahead | show Google Calendar on a TV |
| Google Sheets | A volunteer rota, a service order or a list of small groups, one row per entry | display a Google Sheet on a TV |
| Designer templates | Notices, thank-you messages and event posters made in the browser | Screenbird designer with 250+ templates |
| Uploaded photos and video | Welcome video, mission updates and photos of church life with permission | Screen orientation and resolution |
Letting volunteers manage the screens
Volunteers change from month to month, so the setup should not depend on one person's laptop. Keep the deck and the calendar in a shared account of the church, not a private one.
A volunteer who updates the deck on Saturday does not need to touch the screen on Sunday. The screen reads the source, and the source holds the content. Screenbird's guide to building a digital notice board covers the layout of a typical announcements screen.
How Screenbird handles digital signage for churches
Screenbird is built for small teams with mixed screens and has every feature in one plan: EUR 12 per screen per month billed annually, or EUR 15 billed monthly, excluding VAT. Teammates are included at no extra cost, which suits a rota of volunteers.
Google Slides, Google Calendar and Google Sheets are included sources. The designer offers 250+ templates for posters and notices, and the AI assistant builds playlists and schedules from plain-language instructions. Changes go live after you confirm them. Screens keep playing when the internet drops.
Players include the Amazon Signage Stick, Fire TV, Google TV and Android, Windows, Mac, Linux, Raspberry Pi and any modern browser. A spare laptop or a recent Samsung or LG TV can run Screenbird in its browser, and a small stick is recommended for screens that stay on all day.
Screenbird's page with digital notice board examples shows example layouts for announcements and events.
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Keep reading
Can a church show a Google Slides deck on a lobby screen?
Yes. Screenbird includes Google Slides as a source, so edits to the deck appear on the screen.
Can we use PowerPoint instead?
Yes. Screenbird has a guide for showing a PowerPoint presentation on a TV, so a deck prepared in PowerPoint can run in the same loop.
Can we show song lyrics on the screens?
A screen plays the text that you give it. Lyrics need a source you hold and a license that allows showing them, so check with the licensing body in your country.
Can volunteers update the screens?
Yes. Screenbird teammates are included at no extra cost, so each volunteer can have a login. Agree who may publish changes.
Can screens turn off between services?
Yes. Screenbird switches screens on and off on a schedule through HDMI-CEC. This works on supported players.
How much does it cost?
Screenbird costs EUR 12 per screen per month billed annually, or EUR 15 billed monthly, excluding VAT. The trial lasts 7 days and requires a credit card.
Sources: Screenbird pricing · Screenbird: how to display Google Slides on a TV · Screenbird: how to display PowerPoint on a TV · Screenbird: how to make a digital notice board