Is powerpoint a good option for churches on a budget?

No.

I don't think PowerPoint is the best solution to use long term. Now if your Pastor wants to put his sermon outline in PowerPoint, that is ok I suppose, but Powerpoint is a terrible application to use for song presentation.

We use media shout (http://www.mediashout.com/ ) every Sunday and have been for number of years now. I had never used this before Ridgeview, but I am sold on it being the best thing out there. They also sell a much more affordable version called media shout express that can be upgraded to the full version if you choose to do so later. Other programs I have used in the past are http://www.sundayplus.com/ and http://www.easyworship.com/

I found Sunday plus to be the very simplest one to train new people on, you can just about show anyone before the service what buttons to click and away you go. It is not nearly as capable as media shout though. Easy worship might be the best of both worlds... but again, long term I think you will be happiest with media shout.

Also, in looking for a computer, unless you have to set up and tear down every week buy a desktop rather than a laptop. You can get more bang for your buck, and they are much easier to upgrade later. Also, be sure that you look at these websites and find out what the minimum requirements are to run the programs. That way you won't get stuck with a computer that is too slow.

In looking for a projector, remember that lumen's is king. The higher the lumen's, the higher the price tag, but the higher the value. Figure out how far the projector will have to be from the screen. If you are able to hang it within 20 ft of the screen or so, you won't need as high of lumen's. If you have to shine it from the back of the auditorium however, you will find that you have to spend a ton of money to throw an image that far and still be able to see it.

I hope this is helpful!!