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 reclaim joy and play as expressions of faith in worship by inviting special guest preachers to lead services and by creating a lab for translating scripture into embodied practice.
To deepen the spiritual lives of staff, guests, and ministry hosts through a monthly day of prayer, staff discipleship cohorts, training in worship practices, and a “Longest Night” worship service.
To diversify the cultural representation of the music used in Mennonite churches by developing best practices for creating, sourcing, curating, and hosting resources from a greater diversity of worship expressions.
To promote intergenerational faith formation, spiritual curiosity, and a sense of belonging within the church community by engaging worshipers in a multisensory worship lab experience.
To learn about Black sacred music and its ecumenical history and future by facilitating lectures and the study of hymns by a number of congregations and a campus ministry.
To foster contemplative spirituality and to cultivate emerging leaders by equipping high school-aged Choral Scholars to lead Evensong services.
To deepen congregants’ theological understanding and practice of worship through hands-on workshops, multimedia resources, and interactive prayer stations that foster connections between gathered worship and personal devotion.
To provide a space for Korean-speaking and bilingual households to worship, pray, and listen to God’s word in culturally and spiritually relevant ways.
To implement embodied and intercultural worship led by pastors, artists, and community members, to renew faith through narrative, liturgy, and artistic expression, and to strengthen both resilience and hope.
To build healing-centered, trauma-informed worship practices using the psalms and the arts through a variety of community events and workshops.
To develop an inclusive worship environment by modifying worship practices and creating resources that will encourage the participation of persons living with dementia and help equip their caregivers.
To strengthen congregational participation, formation, and belonging by spending a year studying, designing, and practicing intergenerational worship.
