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 deepen worshipers’ understanding of the triune God by engaging in and reflecting on the dynamism of jazz music in Christian liturgy.
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 reflect on Scripture and culture in order to compose songs and worship expressions that are fitting to a multicultural urban congregational context.
To enrich worship by collaboratively creating artistic liturgical resources inspired by the book of Revelation in order to promote a rich engagement with Scripture.
To implement a participatory intergenerational worship service in which worshipers engage Scripture through art, music, storytelling, and guided discussion.
To equip the members of a worshiping community within a prison for pastoral and musical leadership.
To expand participation in worship for disparate communities by developing a common musical repertoire, writing new music, and theologically reflecting on music's role in worship.
To shape the language, prayer, and song of a worshiping community by composing new songs based on a deepened engagement with the Psalms, informed by their use in various faith traditions.
To immerse children from varied religious backgrounds in reflection on worship practices by engaging them in music composition, singing, liturgy writing, and Scripture reading, and to expose adults to the worship styles and traditions of those children.
To deepen members’ experience of the holiness of God by exploring how various art forms can strengthen liturgical participation.
To frame communal hymn singing as a spiritual discipline in order to increase worshipers’ awareness of God.
