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.
Mount Olive Lutheran Church
To cultivate holy curiosity about what God is doing in the world and in the lives of fellow congregants by connecting our story with God’s story through retreats, guest presenters, and the crafting of new liturgies.
Presbyterian Peace Fellowship
To support Christian peacemakers by developing regular opportunities for virtual corporate worship and by sharing together in the joys and griefs of peacemaking through the practices of prayer and praise, celebration and lament.
Shiloh Baptist Church
To promote appreciation for the diversity of gifts in the congregation and empower worshipers to live out their faith within and beyond the walls of the church by introducing visual arts, liturgical dance, and a choral program within worship services.
Concordia University
Rhoda Schuler
Rhoda Schuler
To analyze the field research data on the adult catechumenate in the Lutheran church and to offer workshops that help pastors and congregations envision an adult catechumenal model that could transform their congregations.
Hope College
Lynn Japinga
Lynn Japinga
To explore the history of policies and practices regarding divorce in the Reformed Church in America, and to study how these policies have shaped worship practices such as Scripture reading, public prayer, and preaching, and affected divorced people.
Western Theological Seminary
Travis West
Travis West
To encourage deeper engagement with scripture in worship and congregational life by developing a curriculum for teaching Hebrew language and culture in the local church.