1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary
© 2024 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
CICW has awarded Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grants for over 20 years to teacher-scholars and worshiping communities in 45+ states and provinces and across 40+ denominations and traditions—including Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, non-denominational, and other Protestant communities.
While worship styles and practices vary greatly across these traditions, the grant projects typically explore at least one of CICW’s ten core convictions related to worship. Explore the hundreds of projects we’ve funded across both streams of the program.
To engage a growing population of people who identify as spiritual, but not religious, and to increase awareness of God's presence in daily life by hosting a monthly worship series that draws connections between familiar secular music and the gospel.
To deepen engagement with Jesus’ teachings by creating songs, liturgies, and visual artwork in response to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount for use in congregational worship and art-making events.
To increase participation of laity across generations in planning and leading worship by strengthening the choir as a vehicle for leadership and formation.
To more deeply engage with the arts in worship by commissioning artists to lead the community in creating different art forms to facilitate worship throughout the liturgical year.
To improve public understanding of worship and foster greater appreciation for the gospel message through hosting a series of educational musical events centered on how the church's songs are windows into faith.
To design a dynamic and collaborative musical process and a multi-song piece to give voice to the ways in which God is moving through the voices of the marginalized.
To promote inclusion of African Christians in multiethnic churches in the United States through documentation and teaching of the oral tradition of African Christian choruses.
To strengthen the connection between Christian worship and creation justice by producing worship songs and liturgical resources that encourage deeper love for and connection to God's creation through public worship.
To support and diversify our ministry to those struggling with mental health by working with psychologists, theologians, ministers, therapists, worship leaders, and artists to create prayers and songs for the worship context that acknowledge and express experiences of psychological suffering.
To strengthen public worship and witness by building capacity in the music ministry, instituting a public worship event, and creating an outdoor mural.
To train children and youth in understanding of worship and in worship skills, including media technology and leading music, to equip them to lead worship at Lighthouse Full Life Center.
To make new worship music resources of all styles accessible to worshipers globally by creating an online worship community that participates in training workshops, fosters the creation of new music, and provides access to a variety of worship resources.
