1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University
© 2026 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
A majority of U.S. Christians born before 1965 are white. However, the fastest growing groups in the U.S. as a whole and in its churches are people of color. Preaching must change to reflect this diversity so that all generations and nations can encounter God through the Word
While some U.S. politicians play on fears about ethnic minorities, changing demographic trends actually offer churches a huge opportunity to create new forms of worship.
Is your worshiping community facing change in worship and looking for wisdom and advice? Do you believe change is needed in your worship and wonder how to initiate it in healthy ways?
One of our callings as Christians is to live as resourceful and redemptive citizens of the countries in which we live—a vexing challenge in an age of political division in so many countries around the world represented at the Symposium.
Preachers know that unless they receive fresh input from good resources, sooner or later their weekly output in the sermon will get thinner and thinner. But where are the solid resources on which the preacher can rely? What best practices exist to enrich preaching?
Many people with autism spectrum disorder find joy, security, and comfort in familiar patterns. We can also take great delight in the perfect match that exists within many of our corporate worship patterns. Take an individual who delights in patterns, structure, and “sameness,” and you have a recipe for a joyful worshiper.
Join with singer-songwriter Sandra McCracken for contemplative songs and liturgical prayers, while making space within this worship service for both lament and joy.
In the age of the internet, we all have access to hundreds of thousands of songs. Hundreds more are written each week. There are dozens of remarkable songs written that are biblically faithful, musically excellent, theologically robust, liturgically fitting, and singable by ordinary people—but they can be hard to find!
"What’s a POGIL?” I asked, half-seriously, half-laughingly. My wife, Sheila, a chemistry instructor in a university was attending a conference for chemistry educators about a pedagogy growing in popularity in science classrooms around the United States. She explained that POGIL is a method for teaching both class content and important skills such as critical thinking and teamwork without using a lecture format.
A worship service from Symposium 2016 led by Frank A. Thomas, preaching, Isaiah 61
In 2017, churches around the world, both Protestant and Catholic, will mark the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. How we mark this milestone will say as much about us, and our own sense of identity, as it does about the events of five centuries ago.
This service features the inspiring prayers, songs, and readings from the African American worship tradition, past and present.
