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.
City Church Philadelphia
To invite people into the biblical story in worship and to broaden their vocabulary for interacting with God using visual art as a focal point.
Conrad Grebel University College
Carol Penner
Carol Penner
To research Anabaptist worship materials and curate a centralized online site to make historical and contemporary Mennonite resources available for all to use.
Cornerstone University
Martin Spence
Martin Spence
To investigate the history of nationalism in American evangelical worship practices, working with congregational leaders to discern ways to disentangle Christian worship and nationalism.
Creator's Table
To use the arts to explore every aspect of worship to invite all people into the presence of the beauty, majesty, mystery, and holiness of the triune God.
Dallas International University
To develop long-term habits of spiritual formation through corporate worship in students preparing for cross-cultural service, focusing on the arts and Biblical literacy.
Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance
To promote deeper participation in worship by exploring the unique musical contributions of African-American Catholic parishes.
Dominican House of Studies/Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception
Andrew Hofer, O.P.
Andrew Hofer, O.P.
To study seven early Christian preachers who model various aspects of "incarnational" preaching and produce a resource encouraging preachers to integrate public speech with all of life.
Eastern Christian School Association
To expand students’ imagination and understanding of God and the people of God by implementing diverse worship expressions.
Emory University
Susan E. Hylen
Susan E. Hylen
To study the history of women's participation in church life in the early church with pastors and church leaders, discerning how historical claims do (and should) function in contemporary discussions.
Fair-Park Baptist Church (Convergence)
To practice contemplative forms of worship as a way of engaging people with God in both counter-cultural and culturally contextual ways.
Faith United Methodist Church
To pursue unity and reconciliation through deepening worshipers’ understanding and practices of Holy Communion.
First Baptist Church Ashland
To foster intergenerational and interracial discipleship by writing daily liturgies together that connect with the weekly liturgies of corporate worship.