1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary
© 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 engage people from different ethnic communities in the practice of basic Christian worship principles in order to promote unity, faith formation, hospitality and missional opportunities expressed in culturally diverse forms.
To develop and deliver culturally relevant drama and visual arts training for worship leaders in prison settings as a means of promoting a vivid awareness and heartfelt response to God.
To explore alternative means of worship using drums from around the world, to promote diversity, multiculturalism, inclusion, and outreach in worship.
To train leaders through study of the theology of baptism and to promote life together in a diverse community through designing and implementing vesper worship services.
To provide music, worship, dance, and art opportunities to train young congregants for participation and leadership in worship.
To develop innovative and informal worship services involving global music to connect with spiritual but not religious persons in the community.
To develop a community through bilingual worship that reaches out from the historic black community to the growing Latino community, and to learn each other's songs and worship traditions.
To explore forms of prayer from various Christian communities in different times and places that will inform and enhance times of communal worship on campus.
To gather families for worship in order to promote a practice of family-based worship and intergenerational spiritual formation.
To connect a theology of worship and the arts with the mission of the church through a monthly series of ecumenical worship services partnering with local homeless shelters, hospitals, and nursing homes.
To enter a church-wide intergenerational exploration of the gospel through the arts of drama, song, dance, storytelling, and sculpture and to integrate these artistic forms in worship experiences through the seasons of the church year.
To use the Psalms as a guide to deepen the understanding and practice of prayer, and to promote unity among diverse ecumenical, racial, and cultural worship expressions.
