Currently I use an Excel Spreadsheet to track which songs I select each week. It basically is a database/library of all the songs that I've planned on which dates. This gives me a reference to go back to when I wonder: when did I last use that song, or have we ever sung that song here before? Are there any better systems, or maybe even programs out there for this type of thing? Ideally I would like to be able to categorize, or even search for songs instead of having to scroll through the whole list I have. What's your system for cataloguing and tracking your church's song repertoire?

Posted On
September 27, 2011Updated On
November 21, 2011Let's Discuss…

We currently use www.planningcenteronline.com. It's a subscription based system so it's not free, but we've found it an invaluable asset for our planning, scheduling and administration. It has made the administration of the worship ministries of my church so much easier. I highly recommend it if you can find the budget for it.
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Thanks for this tip, Keith!
Planning Center does offer a free version as well, which may suit our needs just fine (I'll try it for a while and see). Very cool. I only wish I didn't have to enter the same information 2X (in PlanningCenter & then SongShow Plus).
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We also use www.planningcenteronline.com. I like it because our Worship Director can do all the planning and I can log in and update the bulletins as needed. We used to use an Excel spreadsheet, but now we only use the Planning Center. I also highly recommend it.
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hi Keith...we use the planning center as well. It also prepares the CCLI reports for us. Very cool interface, and places for notes, etc. Our worship leader prepares it, then we receive an e-invite to join the planning session. has drop downs for songs, etc. Great resource for us! For alive ministries /terry ( www.aliveinjenison.org )
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Does Planning Center Online allow for the categorizing/searching mentioned above? I've been working on something in my spare time to allow me to do that, but it's slow going :)
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Planning Center has many search options/criteria, many of which I've never looked at. I use some of their search functions for how often a song is done, and then use CCLI SongSelect for more thematic searches. Rich mentions that there's a free option (which I did not know about) so you can try it out and see if it works for you before you invest too much time and effort into creating something new.
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