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 listen to scripture and compose stories and songs that will promote a more collaborative, trusting, vulnerable and Spirit-filled worshiping environment.
To invite people of all ages and backgrounds into a deeper spirit of contemplation, especially througn outdoor worship that emphasizes the beauty and wonder of God's creation.
To nurture the gifts of the often-excluded community of those with special needs and promote a vibrant worship celebration that embraces the gifts of all.
To focus on the seasons of the Christian year through worship, study, and art, in order to promote a greater sense of God’s presence in worship and daily life.
To cultivate youth to lead as well-formed liturgical musicians and ministers, expanding their knowledge of worship in music, ritual, and text.
To educate the congregation about how to better welcome people of all abilities into the full worshipping life of the church.
To unite congregations of free and incarcerated worshippers through music, by composing worship songs that emerge from the experience of incarcerated men and women.
To promote worship that engages the congregation and surrounding community through cultural stories that show how God forms the identity of God’s people.
To provide training for clergy and lay parish leaders to enhance the planning of liturgy, especially in rural and missionary community parishes.
To bring together different demographics of language, ethnicity, and tradition on campus in worship and to share in fellowship and discipleship activities.
To invite people into the biblical story in worship and encourage them to expand their imagination of God through the art they encounter in the worship space.
To address questions of faith and tradition related to worship, to encourage a spirit of collaborative learning and inquiry, and to stimulate growth in understanding through questions that arise of out of experiences of all kinds of churchgoers.
