1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University
© 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 invite worshipers into the depth and richness of God’s promises by weaving liturgy with the arts through collaborations with local artists for Advent, Lenten, Holy Week, and Pentecost services and through the development and dissemination of artistically inspired service plans.
Harold Dean Trulear
To explore and disseminate best practices for shaping and sustaining a Christian social justice witness through corporate worship.
To deepen community ties and invite other churches into collaboration by hosting art and worship events featuring music, performing arts, and visual arts with activities accessible for all ages.
To broaden the congregation’s understanding of worship and strengthen intergenerational participation by using different artistic expressions in public worship services.
To foster a more active and participatory worship experience among congregants by training them in music and the arts.
To revitalize and transform the congregation’s spiritual life by redesigning public worship services and integrating visual arts, technology, relevant worship practices, and contextualized preaching.
To create a program that trains lay preachers in contextualized preaching and offers practical skills for in-person and online services.
To train worship leaders, theologically and practically, to better lead the congregation and equip congregants to deepen their relationship with God through worship, both as individuals and as a faith community.
To provide workshops and educational programs to actively involve church members of all ages in worship and preaching renewal.
To renew the congregants’ worship life and revitalize the church’s worship services, promoting learning, community, and intergenerational participation.
To create a preaching school for lay leaders to equip them with the knowledge and practical skills to develop an effective preaching ministry in their communities.
To involve lay members in the church’s preaching ministry by strengthening their biblical formation and training them in storytelling and personal testimony.
