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 develop and deliver culturally relevant drama and visual arts training for worship leaders in prison settings as a means of promoting a vivid awareness and heartfelt response to God.
To provide music, worship, dance, and art opportunities to train young congregants for participation and leadership in worship.
To enter a church-wide intergenerational exploration of the gospel through the arts of drama, song, dance, storytelling, and sculpture and to integrate these artistic forms in worship experiences through the seasons of the church year.
To facilitate a study of drama, art, music and dance that will immerse the congregation in the fullness of worship, ground them in their faith, strengthen them as a community and equip them in their calling to reach out to their community.
To create worship that is formative rather than expressive by inviting the congregation and community to engage in multi-generational opportunities for learning, reflection and worshipful expression that includes liturgical dance, mime, step, drama and visual art.
To engage the congregation in learning about the role of drama, liturgical dance and media through seminars, small groups and deep exposure to Biblical story that will create worship that is healing for people who have been oppressed and without hope in a community that has experienced turmoil. Poster available after June 2013.
To explore the role of drama in worship that will help the community more fully engage in God’s Story by offering discussion book groups, mentoring, guest teachers and workshops and will lead to increased understanding of how the classroom intersects with faith.
To create and blend interpretive text, choreographed movement and music in worship and to assist an intergenerational worshiping community to understand and own the theological basis and significance of innovative liturgies through book studies, workshops and the incorporation of new liturgies throughout the church year.
To explore the role of culture in Christian worship through a series of workshops on the use and creation of visual art, dance, and drama that engages the congregation in a dialogue about what it means to be both Reformed and African-American.
To engage the congregation and community in a study of the Old Testament story of Noah and to create art that will deepen relationships and tell the story in ways that will connect Sunday worship and daily life.
To connect two diverse congregations in a collaborative effort to build community, transform space and inspire worship through the incorporation of visual arts into liturgy and the worship space.
To study and reflect on the nature of worship and the use of visual and dramatic arts, music, poetry and liturgy in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper in order to break barriers of perceived differences in age, race, ethnicity, theology, accustomed worship style and socio-economic status.
