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 encourage deeper participation in the worship of prison congregations by teaching prisoners how to develop drama, lament, prayer, poetry, and music.
To strengthen prayer, worship, and evangelism through a weekly worship service of healing, monthly times of fellowship, study and discussion, and a workshop for church leaders.
To focus on biblical hospitality as a basis for inclusive worship that reflects diverse cultures through the collaboration of six local congregations.
To empower youth to plan and lead worship through study of and exposure to various forms of worship.
To train parish music coordinators in Roman Catholic liturgical practices and mentors to assist them in the application of these practices.
To contextualize a Reformed theology of worship in the Hispanic/Latino community through biblical study and practice in music, arts, dance and drama.
To create a sense of narrative, memory, and time by focusing on the practices of lectio divina, prayer, study, and service through a series of workshops and collaborative projects on using word and image in worship.
To encourage interaction with scripture and the preached word through journals, lectio divina, prayer, inductive Bible studies, and Asian art with particular attention to unity across ages and cultures in a traditional Japanese American congregation.
To foster intergenerational participation in weekly worship through the development and integration of the gifts of the entire congregation through visual arts, music, multimedia, and drama.
To improve preaching and listening skills by forming small worship groups that will participate in Bible study, research for a worship series, planning services, and preparation of devotional materials for the congregation that connect the themes of the worship services with daily life.
To increase cultural awareness and communication among diverse community groups through a collaborative focus of local churches on diversity, hospitality, liturgical space, drama, music, and dance.
To design multi-sensory, interactive, communal worship experiences that bridge the church community with the diverse, emerging, post modern culture.
