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 plan intergenerational worship services as small, rural congregations that combine historical and contemporary worship traditions through music, biblical storytelling, liturgical art, and contemplative methods.
To engage the congregation's urban youth through workshops on hip hop, dance, and art that culminate with youth involvement in planning and leading worship.
To empower youth to study and plan liturgies with a particular emphasis on music, art and sacramental celebration in African American congregations.
To break prejudices across generations and cultures in a Lithuanian immigrant community through an intentional focus on scripture, the creation of art, and religious instruction.
To plan liturgies that lead congregants to bring peace, love, joy, justice and hope in the world through a collaboration between leaders and the congregation.
To deepen corporate confession and lament during services in Advent and Lent with images, music and movement.
To incorporate new methods to plan, lead and reflect upon meaningful worship and to adapt worship planning to the gifts and challenges of local churches by working with seminary students and recent graduates across the United States.
To study a biblical perspective on worship through a series of workshops for worship leaders and local congregations with small group follow-up and implementation in individual congregations.
To develop worship resources and support for prisoners in both understanding and participating in worship by forming relationships between six West Michigan congregations (CRC and RCA) and worshiping communities in prisons.
To reflect on the role of visual arts in worship as pairs of pastors and artists and to present the results of this collaborative learning to the broader body of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
To create a mission-oriented worship environment that focuses on visual arts and healing within the emergent church by integrating tradition, cultural context, and individual gifts.
To explore ways to make worship accessible for children and adults with disabilities and to recognize and encourage the participation and leadership of those with special needs and gifts through a partnership with eight to ten congregations.
