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 promote a deeper understanding and practice of psalm-singing through teaching and singing the psalms in preparation to write, record, and sign modern responsorial psalm settings.
To deepen engagement with a culturally broad array of sacred chant traditions in order to facilitate reconciliation between Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches.
To pursue justice by enabling worship artists from the United States and Palestine to create rich liturgies and songs that reflect the lived realities of Palestinian Christians.
To foster worship that welcomes a diverse community by developing an inclusive-language hymnal that includes multiple languages, promotes faithful anti-racism, and reflects the concerns and style preferences of young people.
J. J. Wright
To learn how a musical dramatic proclamation of Christ’s Passion and resurrection awakens friendship, hope, and missionary imagination, and to translate lessons learned into pastoral habits that strengthen Christian worshiping communities.
To strengthen worship life by exploring how diverse worship traditions shape communion with God through Christ across cultures using the primary expressions of art and music.
To engage a growing population of people who identify as spiritual, but not religious, and to increase awareness of God's presence in daily life by hosting a monthly worship series that draws connections between familiar secular music and the gospel.
To deepen engagement with Jesus’ teachings by creating songs, liturgies, and visual artwork in response to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount for use in congregational worship and art-making events.
To increase participation of laity across generations in planning and leading worship by strengthening the choir as a vehicle for leadership and formation.
Becki Graves
To celebrate the diversity of Christianity through exploring the contemplative, Holiness, Evangelical, social justice, charismatic, and incarnational expressions of the Church as part of the process of creating original artistic, poetic, and musical stations of the cross to share in local churches.
Jonathan Calvillo
To examine how hip-hop can be a resource for building spiritual community among Latinx diaspora by modeling how to integrate experiences of race, social engagement, and spiritual support in ministry with youth.
To more deeply engage with the arts in worship by commissioning artists to lead the community in creating different art forms to facilitate worship throughout the liturgical year.
