You’ve got the app set up, your Bibles are loaded, and your song library is ready. Now it’s time to actually plan a service. The Schedule panel in Church Presenter is where everything comes together — you build the full running order before Sunday, then work through it live with a single click per item.
This guide covers building a schedule from scratch through running it on the day.
What the Schedule panel is
The Schedule panel runs along the right side of the app. Every item you add to it — a Bible verse, a song, an announcement, a video — appears as a row in the list. During a service, you work top to bottom, sending each item live when you’re ready.
You can open and close the Schedule panel at any time. Hiding it gives you more space to work in the content tabs; reopening it brings it back exactly as you left it.
Step 1: Add items to the schedule
Each content tab in Church Presenter has an Add to Schedule button — or press F2 — to add the currently selected item. Work through your service order and add each element you need.
Adding a Bible verse
- Go to the Bible tab F6.
- Search for your book, chapter, and verse as usual.
- Right-click the verse (or use the context menu) and choose Add to Schedule, or click the Add to Schedule button in the toolbar.
- The verse appears in the Schedule panel with its reference and the first few words of the text as a preview.
To add a passage spanning multiple verses, hold Shift and click the last verse in the range — all selected verses will be added together as a single schedule item.
Adding a song
- Go to the Songs tab F7 and find the song.
- Click Add to Schedule in the toolbar or right-click the song in the list.
- The song appears in the schedule showing the song number (if it has one), title, and songbook.
Adding announcements and countdowns
- Go to the Announcements tab F12.
- Select an announcement slide or create a new one.
- Click Add to Schedule.
If the announcement has a countdown timer attached, the timer duration appears as a subtitle in the schedule row.
Adding photos, videos, and presentations
Drag any file directly from your file manager into the Schedule panel and Church Presenter will add it automatically:
- Photo folders — drop a folder of images to add it as a photo album slideshow.
- Video or audio files (.mp4, .mov, .avi, .mp3, .wav, and others) — added as media items.
- Presentation files (.pptx, .ppt, .key, .pdf) — added as slide decks.
You can also use the Add Files button at the bottom of the Schedule panel to pick files through a dialog.
Adding lower thirds
From the Lower Thirds tab F11, configure your lower third preset and click Add to Schedule. It will appear in the schedule and can be triggered live at any point in the service without interrupting whatever else is on screen.
Adding items from the mobile app
If your church uses the Church Presenter mobile app, the pastor and choir leader can add items to the schedule directly from their phones or tablets — without touching the main operator computer. They can browse the song library, pick a Bible verse, or queue an announcement, and it appears in the schedule instantly. This is especially useful during rehearsal or when the service order changes at the last minute.
Step 2: Use labels to organize sections
Labels are colored divider rows that you can add anywhere in the schedule. They don’t get displayed on the projection screen — they’re just visual markers to help you navigate a long service order.
Click the label icon (🏷) in the Schedule toolbar to add one. You can customize the text, text color, and background color. Common uses:
- Pre-service — items shown while the congregation is arriving
- Worship — the music block
- Message — sermon-related items
- Response — closing songs or Scripture
Labels help a lot on busy Sundays when you’re scrolling through a full service quickly.
Step 3: Add notes to items
Each schedule item has a note button (the notepad icon). Click it to expand an inline text field where you can type a reminder for yourself or a note for whoever else might be running the screen.
Examples of useful notes:
- “Pastor will read this verse himself — don’t show until he nods”
- “Play at 70% volume”
- “Skip if service runs long”
Notes appear as a small italic preview under the item when collapsed, so you can see them at a glance without opening the editor.
Step 4: Reorder items
The service order you added things in probably isn’t the final order. Reorder items using:
- Arrow buttons on each row — move an item up or down one position at a time.
- Move to Top / Move to Bottom arrows in the Schedule toolbar header — jump an item to the very beginning or end.
- Shift + click + drag — hold Shift, click any item, and drag it to a new position. A preview card follows your cursor.
Step 5: Save the schedule
Save the schedule as a .cps file so you can reuse it or hand it off to another operator:
- File → Save Schedule (Ctrl+S, or the save icon in the Schedule toolbar) — saves to the current file, or prompts for a location the first time.
- File → Save Schedule As… — always prompts for a new file name.
Saved schedules preserve everything: item order, notes, and labels.
Autosave runs in the background every minute while you work. If the app closes unexpectedly, you’ll be offered the option to restore your work the next time you open it — no manual save required for peace of mind.
Step 6: Run the schedule on Sunday
On the day, work through the schedule from top to bottom:
- Click any item to select it. This jumps the relevant content tab to that item so you can see it and make any last-minute adjustments.
- Click the Go Live button (the play icon ▶ on the right side of each row) to send the item directly to the projection screen. You can also double-click the item.
- Undo (Ctrl+Z) reverses your last schedule change — useful if you accidentally remove an item mid-service. Redo (Ctrl+Shift+Z) puts it back.
The currently selected item is highlighted in the list. The projection screen shows whatever was last sent live — clicking items in the schedule doesn’t change the live output until you explicitly hit Go Live.
Loading an existing schedule
If you prepared the schedule earlier in the week, open it with File → Open Schedule (or the folder icon in the Schedule toolbar) and pick your .cps file. The full schedule restores immediately, including notes and labels.
Keyboard shortcuts reference
Here are the shortcuts most useful during a service:
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| F6 | Switch to Bible tab |
| F7 | Switch to Songs tab |
| F8 | Switch to Pictures tab |
| F9 | Switch to Presentations tab |
| F10 | Switch to Media tab |
| F11 | Switch to Lower Thirds tab |
| F12 | Switch to Announcements tab |
| F2 | Add selected item to Schedule |
| Delete | Remove selected item from Schedule |
| Ctrl+S | Save schedule |
| Ctrl+Shift+N | New schedule |
| Ctrl+Z | Undo last schedule change |
| Ctrl+Shift+Z | Redo |
| Double-click | Send item live |
| Shift+drag | Reorder schedule items |
| F1 | Open keyboard shortcuts reference in the app |
A few tips for Sunday morning
Build the schedule a day early. Having it ready on Saturday means Sunday morning is just a quick review, not a scramble.
Use labels to keep your place. Jumping to a specific label is much faster than scanning a long list under pressure.
Keep the schedule visible during the service. Hide it only when you need extra space in a content tab, then reopen it as soon as you’re done.
The schedule survives restarts. Even if the app crashes, the autosave brings back your work from the last minute. But saving to a .cps file is still the safest option before a service.
That covers the full workflow from an empty schedule to a running service. If you haven’t set up the app yet, start with How to Set Up Worship Presentation Software for the First Time.