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 implement a year-long worship discipleship program for youth that uses spoken word, liturgical dance, storytelling, and youth-led worship to equip students to explore faith, express testimony, and lead in worship, promoting spiritual growth and generational engagement within the life of the church.
To more fully engage children in corporate worship and to uncover ways to make singing, worship rituals, and community life more inclusive of all ages.
To promote racial healing and to become a more multiethnic, multicultural, and multigenerational congregation by developing multicultural worship expressions and learning activities.
To launch an intergenerational worship formation project pairing older mentors and students to learn and model prayer, worship, and scripture reading to foster deeper and lasting spiritual disciplines and a sustainable culture of vibrant faith expression.
To support the worship of people with dementia and varied disabilities by collaborating with neighboring churches to host workshops that encourage and develop accessible, sensory-friendly worship practices.
To encourage vulnerability and authentic self- and cultural expression in worship by creating space to share new songs, artwork, and testimonies in worship.
To foster robust and nuanced dialogue inside and outside the church, to cultivate generous and durable habits of patience and mercy, and to help recover concern for neighbors through artist commissions, group study, writing, conversation, hospitality, and friendships related to the topic of shalom.
To encourage the holistic peace (shalom) of a diverse community of immigrants and refugees by developing multilingual, culturally relevant, and trauma-informed preaching and worship practices.
To foster Spanish/English bilingual worship and preaching through leadership training, outreach practices, and translation technology.
To grow in experiences and understanding of embodied worship by encouraging movement, artistic expression, and creative exploration in worship.
To strengthen an emerging group of creatives by fostering community, deepening theological understanding of creativity and faith, and encouraging vibrant artistic expressions of worship.
To learn about and practice collaborative worship planning among clergy, musicians, youth, and lay leaders to strengthen leadership and deepen intergenerational engagement.
