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 develop, with student leadership, ten or more complete chapels focused on Vertical Habits that can be used or adapted for use in other schools, to create a team of students to develop visuals for worship, and to pursue a deeper understanding of the uniqueness of high school worship.
To conduct a seminar to address the need for clergy, choirs and congregations to better understand the Psalms and how the Psalms deepen the prayer life of congregations and nurture their faith.
To offer a daylong symposium and to develop resources for singing the psalms in worship. The project will acquaint worship leaders with choices involving musical styles, methods and modes of presentation and accompaniment, and equip worship leaders to teach others to embrace the psalms.
To develop teaching materials on contemporary musical settings of the Psalms, with an emphasis on music from Africa and Latin America, and to make these available to the wider church community.
To provide a forum for composers working on contemporary renderings of psalm texts and music and to introduce these to worship leaders and the Geneva College worshiping community.
To create a four-part worship series on the Psalms using the gifts of a contemporary composer, a brass quintet, and adult and youth choirs.
To conduct a series of five teaching sessions, concluding with a two-day retreat for worship planners and songwriters on the use of Psalms in worship and to compose new psalm settings
