It had that distinct blue header, the schedule list on the left, and the "Go Live" button that induced just the right amount of holy panic in new volunteers.
Then came version 2009.
Are you still running EasyWorship 2009? What’s the oldest machine you have it installed on? Let me know in the comments—I promise I won't tell your IT director.
As much as we love the nostalgia, running EasyWorship 2009 in 2024 comes with some significant risks that church leaders need to acknowledge.
By following this guide, you'll be well on your way to becoming an EasyWorship 2009 expert and creating amazing presentations for your church or worship team. Happy worshiping!
Version 2009 aggressively supported almost every video and audio codec of the era: MPEG, WMV, AVI, MP3, and even some early H.264 files. It also introduced a feature, allowing moving backgrounds (clouds, crosses, abstract water ripples) to play behind lyrics without needing a second computer. For churches with a single projector, this was revolutionary.
In the history of church technology, few moments are as pivotal as the arrival of . To understand its impact, one must first rewind to the late 2000s—a period when digital projection in churches was still a messy, fragmented, and often intimidating frontier. Congregations were moving away from overhead transparencies and bulky hymn boards, but the software solutions available at the time (primarily EasyWorship’s main rival, SongShow Plus, or the clunky PowerPoint workarounds) required significant technical know-how, expensive hardware, and a dedicated volunteer willing to wrestle with codecs and crash logs.
Easy Worship 2009 didn’t just change how churches projected lyrics. It changed who could be a tech volunteer. It gave confidence to the nervous, power to the small, and consistency to the chaotic. And for that, it deserves a quiet “amen” from every worship pastor who ever slept better on a Saturday night knowing the schedule was already built.
You aren't losing the logic; you're just upgrading the engine.
Copyright compliance had always been a headache. Easy Worship 2009 included a direct link to CCLI (Christian Copyright Licensing International) song numbers. You could type “Hillsong United – Mighty to Save,” and the software would auto-import the lyrics, complete with correct line breaks, chorus repeats, and the mandatory copyright footer. No more typing errors or missing credit lines.
The killer feature was the ability to edit text while it was on screen . Imagine: the worship leader ad-libs a repeat of the chorus. In 2008, you’d need to duplicate slides or click back. In Easy Worship 2009, the operator could select the current slide, hit "Duplicate," and type a new line—all without the congregation seeing the behind-the-scenes scramble. This single feature saved countless awkward silences.