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.
Woody Nook Christian Reformed Church
To invite people into the biblical story in worship and encourage them to expand their imagination of God through the art they encounter in the worship space.
Coastland Commons
To empower members of three local congregations to engage in spiritual formation through practicing and sharing artistic works of song, prayer, and Scripture.
Emmanuel Reformed Church (2015)
To renew a Spanish worshiping community through communal practices of worship connected to art, dance, hospitality, and service.
Fellowship Reformed Church
To nurture a cohort of artists who will contribute to the faith formation of the whole congregation by creating art with and for the congregation.
First Christian Church of Orange
To strengthen corporate worship with theological reflection, innovative and embodied worship elements, creative arts, and the unique gifts of the congregation.
First Congregational United Church of Christ of Rockford
To engage worshipers in a year of walking with Jesus by multisensory worship through the seasons of the church year and connections with worshipers' daily lives.
First Presbyterian Church of Redding
To develop intergenerational, indigenous worship by including the congregation in designing worship services for Advent and Holy Week that include music, visual arts and drama.
Raymond Village Community Church
To explore the meaning of worship by creating engaging community worship experiences that involve the creative gifts and talents of the congregation in art and prayer.
St Matthew's Lutheran Church
To create participatory worship experiences utilizing visual, musical, and dramatic arts to promote a multisensory awareness of God' presence, especially for the deaf community.
Andover Newton Theological School
To help seminary students and faculty discern theologically sound and effective uses of technology and visual media in worship through a year-long process of learning about best practices for chapel worship.
Atascocita Presbyterian Church
To strengthen the presentation of scripture in worship by incorporating artistic elements that appeal to all of the senses.
Azusa Pacific University
To promote a reciprocal relationship between scholarship and service by incorporating congregation-based service-learning experiences into the worship curriculum.