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.
Central Presbyterian Church (2024)
To create space for healing from loneliness and for development of community through creative worship practices, including concerts, community dinners, art exhibitions, and discussion groups.
Christ Church Episcopal
To help children come to love, learn about, and interact with God through the development of a children's Sabbath program that uses music, drama, visual arts, and other disciplines to teach children liturgical concepts and enable them to participate significantly in worship services.
Church of the Cross
To more deeply engage with the arts in worship by commissioning artists to lead the community in creating different art forms to facilitate worship throughout the liturgical year.
Colorado Christian University
Cory Hixon
Cory Hixon
To help church pastors and lay leaders strengthen their theology of work, specifically in STEM, to better serve congregants who work in these fields and to help them see their work as an act of worship.
Concordia Seminary (2024)
To improve public understanding of worship and foster greater appreciation for the gospel message through hosting a series of educational musical events centered on how the church's songs are windows into faith.
connect.faith
To design a dynamic and collaborative musical process and a multi-song piece to give voice to the ways in which God is moving through the voices of the marginalized.
Cooperative Christian Ministry in Higher Education, Inc.
To develop skilled, confident, and energetic student worship leaders through a comprehensive worship leadership development initiative.
Covenant Presbyterian Church of Athens
To promote inclusion of African Christians in multiethnic churches in the United States through documentation and teaching of the oral tradition of African Christian choruses.
Creation Justice Ministries
To strengthen the connection between Christian worship and creation justice by producing worship songs and liturgical resources that encourage deeper love for and connection to God's creation through public worship.
Denver Seminary (2024)
Michelle A. Stinson
Michelle A. Stinson
To create resources for exploring how “keeping time” with both liturgical and environmental/agrarian seasons can be a means of cultivating and fostering a biblical hope in uncertain times.
Disability Belongs
To increase disability awareness and belonging in partner churches by providing resources and strategies for promoting the welcome and inclusion of Christians of all abilities in worshiping communities.
Disciples Christian Church
To deepen congregants’ spiritual engagement in worship and to build bridges between the congregation and community though engagement with visual arts and dance, especially with artists who use the church building.