1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA

On the campus of Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary
© 2025 91ÁÔÆæ
CICW has awarded Vital 91ÁÔÆæ, 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 the congregation in a process of learning through book study groups, workshops and small group conversations that will reflect on their history and explore what it means to be a multi-cultural and multi-racial congregation in a community of rapidly shifting demographics.
To explore multi-cultural worship practices, resources and worship leadership that will help the congregation engage with people of other traditions in their community and around the world.
To train student chapel leaders, staff and the school community in worship from a variety of Christian contexts that will shape worship in chapel to reflect the 56% ethnic minorities and 275 different churches represented in the student body.
To engage the congregation in learning about diverse cultural and linguistic worship resources such as music, visual art and dance and to use them in worship to better reflect the growing diversity in the community and in the congregation.
To create liturgies and other worship resources that will assist multicultural communities to bridge the gap between English and Spanish speaking worshipers and to offer workshops that will guide congregations in the use of the resources.
To teach the congregation global, bilingual songs using the Vertical Habits of worship that will develop a pattern of intergenerational and multicultural worship and reflect the diversity of the congregation and the community.
To explore diverse traditions, stories and artistic expressions with children, youth and adults who represent multiple cultures, socioeconomic class and denominational traditions and incorporate the learning into worship.
To create worship services that expand the range of music, visual art and technology used in worship, incorporate the gifts of lay leaders in worship planning and reflect their multicultural community.
To explore new music, dance and drama that will deepen worship and bridge racial, cultural and generational divides to promote unity among people in the congregation who represent 40 different countries and meet in several locations.
To explore how worship can reflect the rich diversity of the community through a study of worship space, the Lord’s Supper, liturgy, language and music.
To create worship that both reflects and helps form the unique multicultural congregation by recovering authentic indigenous worship materials and creating art, worship environments, music and educational experiences that reflect the worship traditions, theologies, pieties and vocabularies of the community.
To form multigenerational, multicultural teams in which participants can explore how their gifts can be used in worship through music and the arts.
