1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University
© 2026 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 enrich worship by exploring the ways that music, dance, and visual arts support both formative and expressive aspects of gathered worship.
To embody God’s story and the healing power of Christ in the public square through liturgical dance choreographies developed by worshiping community members who are engaged with Scripture and storytelling.
To cultivate in children an awareness of the beauty of God in worship while teaching them skills for leading worship through music, dance, and visual arts.
To deepen members’ experience of the holiness of God by exploring how various art forms can strengthen liturgical participation.
To nurture the gifts of the often-excluded community of those with special needs and promote a vibrant worship celebration that embraces the gifts of all.
To renew a Spanish worshiping community through communal practices of worship connected to art, dance, hospitality, and service.
To engage worshipers in a year of walking with Jesus by multisensory worship through the seasons of the church year and connections with worshipers' daily lives.
To develop intergenerational, indigenous worship by including the congregation in designing worship services for Advent and Holy Week that include music, visual arts and drama.
To provide workshops, retreats, and intergenerational worship experiences for pastors and worship leaders in order to transform the public worship of their churches.
To elevate and strengthen the worship experience of young adults through the creative arts of music, dance, mime, and spoken word.
To explore the meaning of worship by creating engaging community worship experiences that involve the creative gifts and talents of the congregation in art and prayer.
To create participatory worship experiences utilizing visual, musical, and dramatic arts to promote a multisensory awareness of God' presence, especially for the deaf community.
