Let the Congregation Read Along by Scanning a QR Code

QR Code Join, included in every plan, shares the live captions from your Live or Multiple screen with everyone in the room. Listeners scan, pick a language and read along on their own phone, with no account and no app to install.

How it works

Start Live or Multiple mode on the preacher's device, press Share with congregation, and project the QR code full screen. Each person scans it with their phone camera, and the captions appear on their phone as the sermon is translated.

  • A new private code for each share, shown as a QR code and a short link
  • Listeners pick from the languages your screen is translating, or the original words
  • Large text that follows along automatically, with right-to-left layout for Farsi
  • Listeners see when the service has not started yet and when sharing has ended
  • Listeners can also switch on Listen with voice and hear the translation in their own earbuds, read by the voice built into their phone, at no extra cost

Which languages listeners can read

Each listener picks any supported language on their own phone, and the church device starts translating it for them. A language beyond what the church's plan includes uses more plan time, like any extra language, and it is never refused.

Price and running cost

QR Code Join is included in every plan, including the free monthly hour, with nothing extra to buy. Scanning costs nothing however many people join. Each listener picks any language, and a language beyond what the plan includes uses more plan time, like any extra language: Free and Basic include one reading language, Standard two and All Languages every language.

Good to know

A few things to plan for before Sunday.

  • Keep the preacher's device online with the Live or Multiple page open while sharing
  • Anyone with the link can read the captions, so share it with the people in the room
  • Listeners who want saved transcripts and AI sermon notes still need their own account

Do listeners need an account to read the captions?

No. People who scan the QR code read the live captions in their phone's browser without signing in. On the free plan it works within the 1 free hour of the month, and it is included in every paid plan.

Does QR Code Join use more translation hours?

No. Listeners receive the captions the preacher's device is already translating, so the hours used are the same whether nobody or everyone scans the code.

How do churches translate sermons live with this app?

The speaker opens Sermon Translate on a phone, tablet or laptop, selects the spoken language and the translation language, and starts listening. Transcripts and translations appear on that device, and the whole room can read them as captions on a projector or livestream. No headsets, no interpreter booth, no extra hardware.

Which languages are supported?

Sermon Translate supports 123 languages. 61 of them can be spoken from the pulpit, including English, Traditional Chinese, Cantonese, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Vietnamese and 53 more, and all 123 can be read as captions. Every listener can pick their own reading language. The full list is on the languages page.

How is this different from Google Translate or generic AI translation apps?

Google Translate is a powerful general-purpose translator. Sermon Translate is designed around the workflow of a Christian service: church vocabulary, hymn titles, proper names, Bible book names, and verse-reference popups that appear when the speaker clearly references a passage.

Do we need to install anything?

No. It runs in a modern browser on iPhone, Android and desktop. The speaker opens it on one device, and the congregation reads the captions on the projector or livestream. Anyone can also scan the church's QR code and read on their own phone with no account and no app (QR Code Join, included in every plan).

Can it replace a human interpreter?

Sermon Translate works as a sermon interpreter app for live services and handles common preaching vocabulary well. A church can use it as the main translation for weekly services, or alongside a human interpreter for rare languages or high-stakes events. It is a tool, not a person.

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