1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University
© 2026 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
There is a rapidly growing cultural expectation that buildings must be crafted to be environmentally friendly and sustainable for future generations. At the same time, many Christians are realizing that environmental issues are not merely political or technological but also spiritual, especially in terms of stewardship and social justice.
Although it has swept across the nation in the last 25 years, contemporary worship didn't just pop out of nowhere. Have you ever wondered where it came from? This workshop reviewed some of its origins with particular attention to the important Anaheim Vineyard congregation in the 1970s and 1980s.
Find out how the psalms bring hope to suffering Christians in Pakistan and how the psalms can challenge theologians, poets, and musicians around the world to strengthen faith, ministry, and worship.
As Christians we step into the new year with faith and confidence, knowing our God has been faithful in the past and promises to remain so.
Our church can be described as a singing church.
The sermon ends and the organist launches into the "sermon hymn." In many congregations this is where the service begins winding down. But at Eliot Presbyterian Church in Lowell, Massachusetts, the sermon hymn signals a worship practice that people look forward to all week.
Setri Nyomi, general secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, explains why confessing that Jesus is Lord applies to the economy and earth. As the Accra Confession affirms, God calls for just relationships with all creation--so our worship should reflect that faith stance. A feature story exploring Justice and Suffering in Worship centered on God.
Our faith formation is marked by certain milestones. One milestone is public profession of faith or confirmation. When this occurs might vary, but at whatever age, this milestone needs to be vital. This session explored how to recapture a sense of the privilege of professing your faith, make it a celebration, and regularly reaffirm it.
Psalms allow us to express a whole range of emotions in powerful ways and at the same time, they tell us a lot about God. This workshop will examine how worship song writers can learn from the psalms as they work on their own craft.
If your church is larger than 150 people, statistics say that you have members who fall on the Autism Spectrum, including Asperger Syndrome.
This session explored the possibility of discerning the presence of the Holy Spirit in preaching and then discussed some manifestations of the Spirit in sermons, particularly focusing on the expressions of lament and celebration.
While we often associate "postmodernism" with the explosion of communications technology or the outlandish claims of "deconstruction," this workshop suggested that postmodernism might also mean a return to symbols, icons, and ritual. With this in mind, this workshop explored the shape of worship as evangelism in postmodernity.
