1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University
© 2025 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
CICW has awarded Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grants for over 20 years to teacher-scholars and worshiping communities in 45+ states and provinces and across 40+ denominations and traditions—including Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, non-denominational, and other Protestant communities.
While worship styles and practices vary greatly across these traditions, the grant projects typically explore at least one of CICW’s ten core convictions related to worship. Explore the hundreds of projects we’ve funded across both streams of the program.
To facilitate active worship by teaching congregants about embodied worship and developing worship activities available for communal and devotional use on an app.
To ground the congregation in scripture by creating and integrating theologically rich songs, testimonies, and other resources into worship services, supported by a new worship arts studio.
To encourage thoughtful reflection on current worship practices by gathering a cohort of pastors that will explore a comprehensive, contextualized, and historically rooted philosophy of worship and ministry.
To deepen intergenerational participation in worship by equipping lay leaders, developing resources for leading worship leading, and expanding opportunities for creative expressions in worship.
To encourage the congregation’s worship formation by training worshipers to participate in preaching, intercessory prayer, and music.
To develop innovative, embodied, and nature-based worship practices that resonate with spiritually curious individuals outside of traditional church structures.
To encourage intergenerational worship in Chinese churches by empowering seniors to participate in worship leadership and by training leaders to foster inclusion of laypersons representing multiple generations.
To train young people to preach through formation that encourages biblical understanding, spiritual growth, and community mission and provides opportunities for youth to preach in various contexts.
To grow in practices of lament, contemplation, and engaging art in worship through learning trips, coaching, and sharing learnings with congregational partners.
Anna Mercedes
To build the capacity of worshiping communities to be formed as peacemakers and to move through conflict transformatively through the development of restorative justice practices for use in worship.
Kent Burreson
To help worshiping communities respond thoughtfully to contemporary Christian worship by bringing the study of Martin Luther's writings on worship and the sacraments into dialogue with modern cultural engagement with worship.
Peter Jurchen
To strengthen vocational discipleship by researching, designing, and implementing a theologically grounded faculty and staff faith formation framework that aligns professional development with spiritual and liturgical rhythms.
