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.
Fredericktown UMC
To educate the congregation about how to better welcome people of all abilities into the full worshipping life of the church.
Freedom Outreach International: Ministry to the Military
To promote healing through worship by connecting three military congregations to engage together with Scripture, song and prayer focused on spiritual wellness.
Grace Chicago Church
To expand an understanding of corporate worship as a means of God’s grace and spiritual formation by practicing worship habits using the arts.
Grace Community CRC
To facilitate dialogue about the meaning of worship in order to hospitably engage and develop appreciation for a wide variety of worship practices.
Grace CRC
To foster intergenerational relationships by sharing faith stories while creating liturgical art.
Grace Point Church
To disciple worshipers who are learning about and experiencing new worship practices that deepen their understanding of God.
Holy Cross Lutheran Church, St Louis
To invite people into the biblical story in worship and encourage them to expand their imagination of God by focusing on collaboratively-created art.
Knox College
To explore the role of public worship in forming institutional identity by incorporating worship practices that reflect the diversity of the community and its spiritual needs.
Loop Church
To live deeply into the Scriptural connection between the Lord’s Supper and social witness, with particular awareness of the contextual challenges of racism and violence.
Mennonite Worship and Song Committee/MennoMedia
To work with congregations to celebrate and teach the richness of diverse singing practices that deepen community life and connection with God.
Mount Aery Baptist Church (2017)
To deepen worshipers’ experience of the proclaimed Word through training in preaching, spoken word, and drama.
North Park Theological Seminary
To foster rich hospitality in worship by gathering disparate groups of students in worship that crosses cultural boundaries.