1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary
© 2024 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.
Robert Pendergraft
To curate a sourcebook of materials for use in the local church with the specific aim of strengthening intergenerational participation in worship.
To develop spiritual habits in students in the context of worship in order to promote a sense of belonging, to deepen transformation, to encourage genuine fellowship, and to tell stories of transformation through the development of Christ-like patterns of living.
Erik Carter
To explore essential dimensions of accessible worship and identify promising pathways for renewing worship practices which welcome the full participation of people across the spectrum of ability and disability.
To extend the worshiping community to include those who are not physically present by exploring ways to faithfully worship in a digital world.
To fully integrate the arts in the worship life of the church through collaboration among liturgists, musicians, and visual artists, in order to express and embody the attributes of God and the identity of worshipers’ as God’s beloved people.
Travis West
To encourage deeper engagement with scripture in worship and congregational life by developing a curriculum for teaching Hebrew language and culture in the local church.
To strengthen worshipers’ connection with God and with one another by integrating multisensory creative arts in worship
To contextualize worship practices in a Navajo church by engaging Scripture in ways reflective of Navajo cultural practices.
To use Vertical Habits to disciple young adults with developmental disabilities, and to help churches break down barriers to the full, conscious, active participation of those young adults in worship.
To equip children to embody the Christian story through drama in order to deepen their understanding of the God revealed in Scripture.
To enrich worship by exploring the ways that music, dance, and visual arts support both formative and expressive aspects of gathered worship.
To deepen the prayer and worship of a campus community by engaging art in community worship spaces and by creating new art together as a devotional practice.
