1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary
© 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 train and equip worship leaders in African American contexts through studying biblical, theological, and socio-cultural paradigms for worship and music, facilitating dialogue between music and worship faculty and students at ITC and local worship leaders, exploring Black sacred music genres and encouraging cultural diversity in worship.
To study worship history and renewal in a series of retreats and seminars with leaders of six local churches of various denominations and to use the results of this study to create a plan for worship renewal in each of these congregations.
To develop culturally relevant worship that is fully rooted in the Christian scriptures and integrally connected to the cultural traditions and sociocultural understandings of the Native American community through monthly gatherings that will include presentations of native dance and song, the development of communion and marriage rituals, and the exploration of other liturgical and ceremonial needs.
To express diverse, global, and ecumenical worship through education, practice, collaboration, and community involvement in training seminars, cross-disciplinary conversations, and liturgical art.
To collaborate as a group of pastors and youth leaders in urban Grand Rapids to learn about the dynamics of worship in relationship to urban youth and hip hop and to explore the possibilities of incorporating their discoveries into the wider worshiping body.
To increase understanding of Christian worship in diverse settings, improve worship planning and leadership skills, strengthen spiritual life leadership, and help sustain worship practices across cycles of leadership transition through an interdisciplinary process of reflection and learning, skills training, and resource gathering that will result in a compilation of songs, prayers, readings, and testimonies contributed by the faculty, staff and students of King’s University.
To develop a training program that will prepare people to teach the Leadership Program for Musicians, a series of classes on music in worship, to ecumenical groups throughout the United States.
To collaborate with congregations of all denominations through a series of workshops focusing on music in worship, biblical storytelling, liturgical art, and contemplative methods that allow all congregations to share their talents and best worship practices.
To design a process of catechism for those seeking baptism or confirmation in six diverse United Methodist congregations such that both the catechumenate and the congregations are renewed through the Easter Vigil celebration.
To explore biblical themes of justice and peacemaking through education, fellowship, and theological reflection and to express these themes in corporate worship such that they lead to community service.
To explore worship renewal through a collaboration of seminary students, pastors, lay persons, and other ministry professionals from various racial, ethnic, and cultural communities during a pastoral leadership conference.
To examine historic traditions of African American worship and incorporate them into worship services, through a process that includes 40 ministry leaders who will participate in a 13-week Bible study, retreat, seminars, and a citywide worship service.
