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.

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Teacher-Scholar Worship Resources

Ashland Theological Seminary

Amy Davis Abdallah

To explore how Christians think about, experience, and mark death, both physical and metaphorical, in order to help Christians acknowledge death more meaningfully in their personal, small-group, and corporate worship.

Teacher-Scholar
Ashland, ohio
2025
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Teacher-Scholar Preaching Scripture

Calvin University

Clair Mesick

To study New Testament texts on despair, suicide, and mental disorder (“madness”) in their historical and cultural contexts and to consult with experts in pastoral care and psychology to consider implications for the contemporary church context and to provide resources for preaching on these topics that do not demonize mental illness.

Teacher-Scholar
Grand Rapids, michigan
2025
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Teacher-Scholar Music

Calvin University

Forrest Wakeman

To encourage deeper appreciation of God’s redemptive pursuit of God’s people through preparing for (including learning the music and studying the text) a premier performance of a large-scale choral and orchestral work that sets Old Testament texts by the biblical prophets as a dialogue between God and God’s people. 

Teacher-Scholar
Grand Rapids, michigan
2025
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Teacher-Scholar Preaching

Catholic Theological Union

Edward Foley

To empower preachers to effectively engage with science in their sermons and homilies through a training program and the creation of digital resources. 

Teacher-Scholar
Chicago, illinois
2025
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Teacher-Scholar Worship Practices

College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University

Anna Mercedes

To build the capacity of worshiping communities to be formed as peacemakers and to move through conflict transformatively through the development of restorative justice practices for use in worship.

Teacher-Scholar
Collegeville, minnesota
2025
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Teacher-Scholar Historical

Concordia Seminary

Kent Burreson

To help worshiping communities respond thoughtfully to contemporary Christian worship by bringing the study of Martin Luther's writings on worship and the sacraments into dialogue with modern cultural engagement with worship. 

Teacher-Scholar
St. Louis, missouri
2025
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Teacher-Scholar Preaching

Lancaster Theological Seminary of Moravian University

Catherine E. Williams

To promote effective homiletical practices that are integral to the flourishing of Caribbean congregational life by producing instructional materials related to the homiletical wisdom and liturgical practices of Caribbean congregations in the United States and the Caribbean islands.

Teacher-Scholar
Lancaster, pennsylvania
2025
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Teacher-Scholar Multicultural Music

Lipscomb University

Aaron Howard

To encourage racial reconciliation in the church by creating a multimedia resource to equip worshiping communities to develop multiracial gospel choirs.

Teacher-Scholar
Nashville, tennessee
2025
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Teacher-Scholar Accessibility

Princeton Theological Seminary

Erin Raffety

To equip worshiping communities to recognize and lift up leaders with disabilities in church contexts by working with Christian leaders to model inclusive leadership practices.

Teacher-Scholar
Princeton, new jersey
2025
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Teacher-Scholar Vertical Habits/Psalms Worship Resources

Valparaiso University

Lisa D. Maugans Driver

To revitalize the practices of confession and forgiveness in worship by developing theological, instructional, and practical resources to encourage greater intentionality in individual and corporate confession.

Teacher-Scholar
Valparaiso, indiana
2025
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Teacher-Scholar Formation Scripture

Abilene Christian University

Amanda Jo Pittman

To foster Christian formation through a study of how embodied and communal practices are described in the books of Luke and Acts. 

Teacher-Scholar
Abilene, texas
2024
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Teacher-Scholar Formation Hermeneutics

Abilene Christian University

Myles Werntz

To help worshiping communities learn about the moral life by connecting categories of moral reasoning to the ongoing practice of worship and discipleship as described in Psalm 23.

Teacher-Scholar
Abilene, texas
2024
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