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 create a robust sending rite that empowers and commissions worshipers to engage God’s work in the world in their daily lives.
To develop in pastoral musicians skills for leading congregational singing that facilitate active participation and transformation in worshipers.
To initiate a contemplative worship service that celebrates the stories of worshipers and to provide training and coaching in storytelling.
To increase worshipers’ experience of the beauty of God by equipping churches with tools and with skilled leaders that will continue the rich tradition of chant, iconography, woodworking, and textiles in Orthodox worship.
To educate the community and congregation regarding the rich heritage of the African-American worship experience in order to cultivate intergenerational unity.
Kyle Dieleman
To study the relationship between Sabbath observance and spiritual formation, offering historical insights and exploring contemporary adaptations.
To discover and implement worship practices that bring together previously age-segregated generations in five Korean-American immigrant churches.
To deepen worshipers’ love of God and neighbor through disciplined improvisations of jazz in worship.
Paul Galbreath
To develop liturgical resources for congregational use that link Christian discipleship and earth care, grounding environmental advocacy in corporate worship practices.
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.
