Here is a list of open source software that we have collected which we thought might be of interest to our readers. This software is either of a Christian origin (like BibleTime) or would be useful in your church (like Audacity). We’ve organized it into categories of software as well, for your browsing convenience.
Audiovisual
- Audacity
- Audacity is a free, easy-to-use audio editor and recorder. It can be used to record live audio, convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs. It can also edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, WAV or AIFF sound files, cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together, and change the speed or pitch of a recording.
Runs on: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux/Gnome. - openlp.org
- openlp.org is a lyrics projection application with the ability of displaying not just songs, but Bible verses, PowerPoint presentations, videos and images.
Runs on: Windows, Linux/Wine. - OpenSong
- OpenSong is a free, open-source software application created to manage lyrics, chords, lead sheets, overheads and computer projection.
Runs on: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux.
Bible Study
- BibleTime
- BibleTime is a Bible study application for Linux. It is based on the K Desktop Environment and uses the Sword programming library to work with Bible texts, commentaries, dictionaries and books provided by the Crosswire Bible Society.
Runs on: Linux/KDE. - GnomeSword
- GnomeSword is a Bible study tool written for Linux and UNIX systems under the GNOME toolkit, offering a rich and featureful environment for reading, study, and research using modules from The Sword Project and elsewhere. GnomeSword also runs in the Windows+Cygwin environment.
Runs on: Windows/Cygwin, Linux/Gnome. - MacSword
- MacSword is a free & open-source application for research and study of God and His Word. It is developed specifically for Macintosh computers running Mac OS X. Also, because MacSword is based on the Sword project, it is compatible with a growing collection of over 200 texts available in over 50 languages.
Runs on: Mac OS X.
Church/Service Management
- ChurchInfo
- ChurchInfo is a free church database program to help churches track members, families, groups, pledges and payments. Our feature set is comparable to expensive church management software packages. Our users are supported by an open-source community of people who volunteer their time and energy to make this technology available to all churches.
Runs on: Server-side Web Application, requires PHP, MySQL. - openworship
- openworship is a centralized web-based system for scheduling services, managing teams and communicating effectively with members of those teams. openworship will allow a music minister and/or pastor to assemble a plan for upcoming services.
Runs on: Server-side Web Application, requires Python.
Office & Publishing
- OpenOffice.org
- OpenOffice.org is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages.
Runs on: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Other OS. - Scribus
- Scribus is an open-source program that brings award-winning professional page layout to Linux/Unix, MacOS X, OS/2 and Windows desktops with a combination of “press-ready” output and new approaches to page layout. Underneath the modern and user friendly interface, Scribus supports professional publishing features, such as CMYK color, separations, ICC color management and versatile PDF creation.
Runs on: Windows, Linux/Qt, Mac OS X, Other OS.
Operating System
- Ichthux
- Ichthux is an operating system aimed at Christian users. It is based on Kubuntu in order to provide the best desktop environment of the moment, together with Christian programs and settings.
Web/Online Software
- Drupal
- Drupal is a free software package that allows an individual or a community of users to easily publish, manage and organize a wide variety of content on a website. Tens of thousands of people and organizations are using Drupal to power scores of different web sites.
Runs on: Server-side Web Application, requires PHP.
