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.
To explore the use of new music, liturgical art and drama in worship that will engage the entire human experience of body, soul, mind, and spirit.
To encourage full, active, conscious participation in worship by exploring a broad range of music that includes traditional and newer hymnody, fostering understanding and dialogue between those whose musical tastes are vastly different, deepening the understanding of the Trinity in worship, and matching the rhythm of worship with the liturgical calendar.
To train and equip worship leaders in African American contexts through studying biblical, theological, and socio-cultural paradigms for worship and music, facilitating dialogue between music and worship faculty and students at ITC and local worship leaders, exploring Black sacred music genres and encouraging cultural diversity in worship.
To incorporate lay leaders of all ages in planning and leading worship around themes of justice and mercy to meet the needs of the surrounding urban community.
To help children explore and experience worship through enhancing resources for children in worship and creating a framework to help congregations implement the resources.
To study worship history and renewal in a series of retreats and seminars with leaders of six local churches of various denominations and to use the results of this study to create a plan for worship renewal in each of these congregations.
To provide ongoing training for musicians, choirs, worship leaders, and the congregation through developing a bilingual liturgy, hymn book, and other printed resources as well as creating multicultural art and symbols for the multicultural worship environment.
To extend the experience of the summer music and faith program to the greater community by helping students form yearlong mentorships with pastors or other worship leaders in their home congregations so that the youth will become fully integrated into the worship life of their congregation.
To extend the experience of the summer music and faith program to the greater community by helping students form yearlong mentorships with pastors or other worship leaders in their home congregations so that the youth will become fully integrated into the worship life of their congregation.
To explore the meaning of art in worship as well as to experiment with forms of art and ways to incorporate that art in the ongoing worship life of area congregations.
To design worship and curriculum that emphasizes the unity of the body of Christ and the richness of differing worship styles across racial and cultural lines through building relationships with families and the worship team of Angel Community Church.
To explore and nurture contextualized worship in an urban church with multi-racial and multi-class membership through consulting with urban and Southeast Asian churches, studying questions about worship and encouraging youth to learn traditional Southeast Asian instruments.
