1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University
© 2026 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
When the first Christian missionaries came to the Navajo people they unfortunately brought more than the Gospel. They also brought the message that God could only be worshiped through the Western culture. This workshop contained a collection of stories and lessons learned in my journey to understand what it means to be Navajo and Christian.
This panel of Worship Renewal Grant recipients --from First Christian Reformed Church, Hamilton, Ont.; Eliot Presbyterian, Lowell, Mass.; Rehoboth Christian Reformed Church, Rehoboth, N.M.; and Bridgeway Community Church, Haledon, N.J.-- told their stories of how they are bringing together worshipers of different cultures, experiences, and perspectives. They offered practical ideas of how visual art, music, and testimony can help people honor their heritage and grow in unity.
This session probed key scriptural texts on the theme of divine glory, reviewed contributions of influential theological texts, and explored the pastoral dimensions of weaving this luminous theme into everyday ministry back home.
A set of resources for acknowledging military members in worship.
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 featured stories, prayers, and insights from the first year of the Stockbridge Boiler Room, a simple Christian community that practices a daily rhythm of prayer, study, and celebration while caring actively for the poor and the lost.
Worship planners and leaders often speak of excellence in worship. What are these standards and who determines them?
The Psalms have been a great source of inspiration for generations of Christians but children seldom get the chance to interact with more than a handful of Psalms in a meaningful way. This workshop will explore how we can help children do this and why it matters.
The session presented several practical tools for building a church community that welcomes and embraces diversity in membership. Highlighting examples from churches including members with disabilities, this session offered ideas that allow people to see one another through God's eyes.
In this hands-on workshop, participants delved into the limitless process of multi-colored mono-prints, working with various found objects that are considered to be dead or discarded and seeking to imbue/resurrect them with life through the creative process, thus making a "new creation" --2 Corinthians 5:17--.
The Bible is a rich source of dramatic material for worship. From medieval tropes to contemporary sketches, this workshop surveyed the ways people have adapted scripture for performance and then formed groups to create original scripture plays.
This workshop explored celebration as the distinct perspective and genius the African American Church has brought to the preaching task.
