Cross Funeral Program — Bifold
A cross with olive branches. The sample wording is a Baptist homegoing service.
1 sheet, printed both sides, folded once · US Letter
Church services
4 Christian and Baptist Funeral Program Templates
Protestant funerals share a family resemblance: scripture, prayer, congregational hymns, words about the person and a sermon of hope. Within that, a Baptist homegoing, a Methodist service of death and resurrection and a Lutheran funeral each have their own order and vocabulary. These four templates cover the common ground and are easy to adjust to your church’s way of doing things.
Four church programs
Christian funeral programs in Word, Google Docs and PDF
A homegoing, opened
Inside the Cross homegoing program
Homegoing order of service and obituary
A typical Baptist order
Baptist funeral order of service
- Prelude and processional of clergy and family
- Hymn or choir selection
- Scripture readings, Old and New Testament
- Prayer of comfort
- Musical selection
- Acknowledgements and resolutions
- Remarks from church, family and friends
- Solo
- Obituary, read aloud or silently
- Eulogy or sermon
- Benediction and recessional
Baptist churches are free to arrange their own worship, so treat this as the usual pattern, not a rule. Your pastor will say what to add or move.
Homegoing traditions
Wording a homegoing celebration program
In many Black church traditions the funeral is a homegoing: a celebration that a believer has gone home to God. A few conventions show up on the program, and the Cross template uses them.
- The cover reads Homegoing Celebration or Celebration of Life, not Funeral.
- Dates are given as Sunrise and Sunset.
- Resolutions from the church and other organizations are acknowledged, with one or two read aloud.
- Remarks are limited on the page itself, commonly to two minutes each.
- The obituary is often marked Read Silently so the service keeps moving.
- Flower bearers and the repast are listed alongside the pallbearers.
Other Protestant churches
Methodist, Lutheran and Presbyterian services
These churches follow a printed liturgy more closely. A Methodist Service of Death and Resurrection, a Lutheran funeral and a Presbyterian Service of Witness to the Resurrection all move from gathering and prayer, through scripture and sermon, to a commendation and blessing, with the Lord’s Prayer and often a creed said together. The Classic and Heavenly Sky templates already follow that shape; rename the parts to match your church’s worship book.
Catholic
Catholic Funeral Mass Program
The order of the Mass, part by part.
Open →
Scripture to print
Poems, Verses and Quotes
King James verses that fit a panel.
Open →
Family thanks
Acknowledgement Wording
Words for the back of the program.
Open →
Questions families ask
What does sunrise and sunset mean on a funeral program?
Sunrise is the date of birth and sunset the date of death. The wording is traditional in homegoing programs and is now used widely. On the Cross template the dates line is one field, so you can switch between Sunrise and Sunset and plain dates.
Where do resolutions go in a homegoing program?
They are listed as one line, Acknowledgements and Resolutions, after the prayer and a musical selection. The church clerk or an officer reads one in full and names the others. Our funeral resolutions page has complete texts to adapt.
Can I print the words of a hymn in the program?
Only if the hymn is in the public domain, as older ones such as Amazing Grace and It Is Well with My Soul are, or your church holds a licence that covers reprinting. Otherwise print the title and hymnal number.
Free funeral templates · Updated through October 2026 · by David Nelsen. Every name, date and place printed on these templates is invented sample wording; each file is opened in Microsoft Word and Google Docs before it is published.