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 encourage and enable Native Americans to worship God in an authentic indigenous way through a process that will include learning and offering a workshop to other churches and the community.
To gather representatives from Northeastern Asian Indian, Native American and Asian American worshipping communities to assist each in lifting up its own “voice” in Christian worship, and to develop and disseminate the resulting worship resources through a conference.
To gather Latino worship leaders to share the wealth of worship materials with deep roots in Hispanic culture and traditions that have been created in recent years, to promote critical theological reflection on the value and use of these materials, and to encourage their continuing creation.
To seek new models of worship which provide a theological framework of multicultural worship in an urban context by offering Multicultural Worship Festivals and a worship conference.
To create an indigenous worship service which integrates the best of the unique culture of their community with the strength of the Lutheran tradition, and to develop a workbook that will guide a congregation in developing worship practices that are responsive to their own particular context.
To engage members of various ethnic traditions to lead worship by identifying persons who are proficient in the arts, drama, music and writing for multicultural worship services and offering worship workshops, evening programs and retreats for both adults and children.
To connect a multicultural, multi-class group of children and youth with artists/mentors to learn about and practice various art forms including painting, puppetry/drama, photography, dance and music that will be used in worship.
To develop multigenerational worship services led by multicultural worship teams which focus on the community of faith and engages both children and adults through music from diverse cultures and weekly celebration of the Lord’s Supper.
To develop and nurture children as worship leaders in an urban multicultural congregation through a summer camp and after school program.
To encourage the use and appreciation of multicultural music and liturgy in the worship services of four Lutheran and Reformed congregations located in a multicultural neighborhood through he development of a congregational/ecumenical model for worship renewal.
To renew worship through a process of study, implementing new worship formats, evaluation and sharing with other similar congregations which are multi-cultural, interracial, and intergenerational.
To offer a two-day regional conference and exhibit in worship and the arts for Hispanic churches, focusing on how the arts can be used effectively in worship and evangelism.
