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 foster worship that welcomes a diverse community by developing an inclusive-language hymnal that includes multiple languages, promotes faithful anti-racism, and reflects the concerns and style preferences of young people.
J. J. Wright
To learn how a musical dramatic proclamation of Christ’s Passion and resurrection awakens friendship, hope, and missionary imagination, and to translate lessons learned into pastoral habits that strengthen Christian worshiping communities.
Lisa D. Maugans Driver
To revitalize the practices of confession and forgiveness in worship by developing theological, instructional, and practical resources to encourage greater intentionality in individual and corporate confession.
To create a dinner church, led by student leaders who co-create the liturgy and liturgical arts, to be an alternative and collaborative worshiping community for young adults who are weary of traditional church spaces.
Jennifer Powell McNutt
To study the history of the French Huguenot Bible as an avenue for equipping the church with a fresh appreciation for the nature of scripture, its role in worship, and how scripture points to the living God and transforms the Christian life today.
To equip rural pastors and worship leaders by providing training and building networks for support and creative exchange.
To strengthen worship life by exploring how diverse worship traditions shape communion with God through Christ across cultures using the primary expressions of art and music.
To invite all ages into creative, participatory worship by facilitating experiential worship opportunities with a worship lab and a collective art project.
Amanda Jo Pittman
To foster Christian formation through a study of how embodied and communal practices are described in the books of Luke and Acts.
Amy McLaughlin-Sheasby
To explore the efficacy of preaching through the lens of affect theory to help preachers think carefully about the extralinguistic properties of proclamation and the ethical questions of the power of preaching.
Brad East
To deepen Christian discernment about the impact of digital technology on Christian worship through the study of both challenges and opportunities presented to churches, pastoral ministry, and public worship by new digital mediums.
Myles Werntz
To help worshiping communities learn about the moral life by connecting categories of moral reasoning to the ongoing practice of worship and discipleship as described in Psalm 23.
