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.

Congregational Life
Select Year
Select State/Province

Colorado Christian University

Cory Hixon

To help church pastors and lay leaders strengthen their theology of work, specifically in STEM, to better serve congregants who work in these fields and to help them see their work as an act of worship.

Teacher-Scholar
Lakewood, colorado
2024

Concordia University

Rhoda Schuler

To analyze the field research data on the adult catechumenate in the Lutheran church and to offer workshops that help pastors and congregations envision an adult catechumenal model that could transform their congregations.

Teacher-Scholar
St. Paul, minnesota
2020

Hope College

Lynn Japinga

To explore the history of policies and practices regarding divorce in the Reformed Church in America, and to study how these policies have shaped worship practices such as Scripture reading, public prayer, and preaching, and affected divorced people.

Teacher-Scholar
Holland, michigan
2020

Western Theological Seminary

Travis West

To encourage deeper engagement with scripture in worship and congregational life by developing a curriculum for teaching Hebrew language and culture in the local church.

Teacher-Scholar
Holland, michigan
2019