Worshiping Communities
Grants

We encourage both emerging and established worshiping communities to develop grant proposals using a collaborative process. Christian communities eligible for grants include:

• New churches and church plants
• Established congregations and parishes
• Seminaries, colleges, and religious schools
• Hospitals, nursing homes, and hospice centers
• Prison and correctional center ministries
• Other Christian worshiping communities

Organizations eligible for the grant program must be based in the United States or Canada and must present proof of their tax-exempt status with their application.

Any group or team with leadership roles related to the worship life of a Christian church or nonprofit organization in the United States or Canada is welcome to apply. Teams can include pastors, educators, church staff, musicians, artists, architects, actors, dancers, scholars, and more.

Note: The team should have the support of the senior pastor or key administrator of the organization. We’ve learned that including such leaders in the process increases the likelihood that a project will meet or exceed its goals.

The grant program takes place over the course of one year. Many congregations and other worshiping communities with whom we’ve worked have discovered that a year spent focusing on worship can revitalize their ability to share the good news of the gospel.

In addition, these projects have taught us that when communities focus on worship, others are drawn to worship with them. Therefore, even though the grant project lasts for just one year, a Vital Worship, Vital Preaching grant can plant seeds that continue to grow long after the project ends.

Worshiping communities grant projects can focus on a variety of Christian worship practices, including the following:

• Bible reading
• Preaching/sermon/homily
• Public prayer
• Baptism
• Lord’s Supper/communion/Eucharist
• Congregational music and singing
• Visual arts
• Storytelling
• Universal design and responsive design for worship
• Cultural engagement
• And more!

Here are a few examples of projects this grant program has funded for worshiping communities:

• In-depth study of the theology of worship in relation to worship practices
• Study of baptism or the Lord’s Supper and how these sacraments connect with the life of the community
• Exploration of the Psalms and how they shape lyrics and music in worship
• Collaboration between pastors and lay leaders to plan worship that integrates sermons with other aspects of worship or congregational life
• A year-long process exploring ways to use the unique gifts of members of all ages in planning and leading worship

All grant proposals are evaluated by a team of evaluators who look for projects that meet defined guidelines.

Requirements: In general, an eligible project will meet the following criteria:

• It has the potential to generate renewed interest and energy for public worship at the local, grassroots level.
• It is linked with the worship life of a particular congregation or worshiping community.
• It includes a component of theological reflection on public worship’s meaning and purpose.
• It is inspired by a vision and is realistic in nature.

Preferred elements: Although we don’t require the following elements, we give preference to projects for which any of these statements are true:

• Collaboration is a focal point; the project brings people together for study, planning, and creating.
• The project brings new learning into a community through a speaker series and a study of books or other resources.
• Communities with limited financial resources are directly involved.
• The program has the potential to model vital worship for other worshiping communities.
• The group leading the project has a plan for sharing the results of the program.
• The project is designed to nourish intergenerational or multicultural communities rather than dividing worshipers into groups.

In general, the following elements are not supported as part of a grant project:

• Grants to individuals
• Compensation for staff or volunteers for planning, teaching, or administration beyond 20% of the total grant
• Equipment costs in excess of 10% of the total grant
• Production and replication of CDs, DVDs, books, and videos for sale
• Building renovations and other construction costs
• Food costs not connected to worship-related reflection or learning
• Attending or hosting a conference, concert, camp, or other one-time event that is not part of a larger year-long learning process