Planning Worship

Birgitta Johnson on New African American Ecumenical Hymnal

One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism is a new Protestant hymnal compiled by a core committee of worship arts ministers and scholars. It goes deep and wide into the multiple streams of black Christian music and worship.

January 7, 2019 | 6 min read
Amanda Benckhuysen on Preaching from the Minor Prophets

Most congregations have never heard a sermon preached from the prophetic books of Nahum or Obadiah. Other than a few choice passages in Jeremiah or Isaiah, the major prophets are mainly ignored too. That means worshipers are missing out on more than a quarter of inspired Scripture.

December 12, 2018 | 7 min read
John McClure on How Liturgical Practices Can Shape Conversations in a Pluralistic World

Christian liturgical practices—confession, intercession, and preaching—contain wisdom that can bring compassion and consensus to public conversations around contentious moral issues.

December 4, 2018 | 5 min read

Joyce Ann Zimmerman on 14 Years of Evaluating Vital Worship Grants

During her 14 years on Calvin Institute of Christian Worship’s Grants Advisory Board, Joyce Ann Zimmerman evaluated 1,345 grant proposals. She describes essentials of a good grant project.

November 9, 2018 | 5 min read
Mental Illness and Christian Worship

This topic showcase highlights resources for including people with mental illnesses in worship. Congregations that renew their worship to become more inclusive discover that everyone benefits.

October 30, 2018 | 8 min read

Eddie Espinosa on Changes in Contemporary Worship Music

Eddie Espinosa, composer of “Change My Heart, O God,” explains why those who lead worship need to cultivate heart holiness.

August 22, 2018 | 6 min read
Kevin Adams on Framing Words for Missional Worship

Worship can change lives when people understand what they are doing and why. Carefully chosen words help frame classic worship elements so gathered congregants are sent out to embody God’s grace, mercy, and peace.

July 25, 2018 | 5 min read

Evening Worship: “Grounded in God: A Faith-filled Testimony of the African American Church in Song”

An evening worship service held at the 2018 Vital Worship Grants Event.

July 20, 2018 | 91 min video
Anne Emile Zaki on Preaching and Teaching in Today’s Egypt

After becoming a seminary professor in Egypt in 2013, Anne Zaki discovered two things about preaching that she hadn’t learned in the North American context.

June 15, 2018 | 7 min read