1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University
© 2026 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
Becoming a worship-centered congregation is a profound cultural shift for some congregations and often takes as much as ten years. Using leadership theory and theories of transformational learning, this workshop explored the dynamics of congregational change, resistance to change, and the role of congregational leaders in always pointing toward the worship of God as the church's highest calling.
As Christian school families are learning from their kids and grand kids, high school chapel services are a lot different than they used to be--and often more appreciated as well. A feature story exploring high school chapels.
It was just a simple email between friends--but now a Canadian congregation prays for Christians in Egypt. Your church can just as easily make congregational prayers more global. A feature story exploring the inclusion of Global concerns in our congregational prayers.
Whether they are drama leaders in a North American mega church or Catholic priests in a Mexican village, Christians everywhere wrestle with how much of culture to appropriate in worship. They debate the difference between yielding to syncretism and following Paul’s desire “to become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some”
Several Christians learning together as peers will accomplish far more than one enthusiastic reader can do alone--especially when these study groups look for the Holy Spirit's guidance. A feature story exploring the benefits of Peer Learning groups.
"Isn't that what we pay staff for?"? is the dreaded question in multistaff churches. Here's advice on involving the entire congregation, not just "the pros" in worship. A feature story exploring the importance of congregational involvement in worship, especially in multistaff churches.
The growing attention paid to the "emerging church" has certainly got people talking. And whatever the "emerging church" is, it seems to be quite a chameleon.
As those who led worship at the Reformed Ecumenical Council Assembly learned, global worship involves a lot more than tossing in a song from another country or culture. A feature story exploring Global Worship.
Many churches devote far more planning and worship service time to music, the sermon, and other service elements than they do to public Scripture reading. A feature story exploring the importance of Scripture memorization and public reading.
New churches attract more newcomers than established congregations do--which means they must go out of their way to help people understand what they're doing during worship. These lessons in how to talk with and about God during worship can benefit any church. A feature story exploring worship in new churches and how to develop a faith vocabulary.
A reflection on worship at Unity Christian High School, Hudsonville, Michigan.
At The River Community Church in Edmonton, Alberta, pastors Karen Wilk and Bruce Gritter find that using multisensory or multigenerational elements makes messages easier to remember.
