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 cultivate a spiritually healthy, emotionally resilient, and missionally engaged congregation by forming disciples through contextual preaching, participatory music, liturgical art, and personal devotion practices.
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 the congregation’s worship formation by training worshipers to participate in preaching, intercessory prayer, and music.
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.
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.
To connect with God and others in a distracted world by practicing stillness, listening to each other’s stories, and collaboratively creating music, visual art, and literary pieces that showcase God’s work in the life of the community.
To anchor congregational worship in the Psalms through the practices of prayer, Scripture reading, and sharing testimony, so that members will be firmly rooted in long-standing healthy habits that biblically inform congregational identity.
Michelle Stinson
To explore a biblical theology of divine hospitality that examines themes related to God as Creator, Sustainer, and Gracious Host at the Table in worship and in the tables of life, and to consider ways of practicing hospitality as an expression of the missio dei.
To create an intentional worshiping community of adult disciples seasoned in liturgical leadership to gather in worship and cross-pollinate their unique worship practices, culminating in leadership at the Disciples Worship and Arts Institute that welcomes participants from across the Christian church.
To foster racial healing through the practices of worship, pilgrimage, and reflection on the impact of racism on the church.
To reduce the hearing and visual barriers that limit some members from full participation in the worship service by practicing liturgical dance and scripture enactment that include assistive listening and captioning.
To equip youth to actively participate in all aspects of the worship experience, including planning and services, by exploring the meaning of worship, different worship styles, and various expressions of worship.
