CICW has awarded Vital 91, 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.
Calvin University
Clair Mesick
Clair Mesick
To study New Testament texts on despair, suicide, and mental disorder (“madness”) in their historical and cultural contexts and to consult with experts in pastoral care and psychology to consider implications for the contemporary church context and to provide resources for preaching on these topics that do not demonize mental illness.
Catholic Theological Union
Edward Foley
Edward Foley
To empower preachers to effectively engage with science in their sermons and homilies through a training program and the creation of digital resources.
Faith Lutheran Church
To empower lay leaders for the ministry of proclamation and encourage a diversity of voices in the pulpit by developing a lay preacher training program.
Lancaster Theological Seminary of Moravian University
Catherine E. Williams
Catherine E. Williams
To promote effective homiletical practices that are integral to the flourishing of Caribbean congregational life by producing instructional materials related to the homiletical wisdom and liturgical practices of Caribbean congregations in the United States and the Caribbean islands.
Latinos Unidos en Cristo and Igreja Presbiteriana Brasileira
To promote vibrant, multilingual worship through a multicultural preaching and worship lab that will form, equip, and unite two diverse congregations.
Abilene Christian University
Amy McLaughlin-Sheasby
Amy McLaughlin-Sheasby
To explore the efficacy of preaching through the lens of affect theory to help preachers think carefully about the extralinguistic properties of proclamation and the ethical questions of the power of preaching.
Calvin University
Tyler Greenway
Tyler Greenway
To compare the intended and actual outcomes of sermons and homilies by studying how listeners respond to preaching in their behavior, emotions, and beliefs.
Dordt University
Kyle Dieleman
Kyle Dieleman
To encourage preachers through exploration of historical and contemporary Advent preaching to consider how preaching can form people for a life in which pacing, expectations, and longings are recast in light of the kingdom of God.
Faith Mennonite Church
To equip lay leaders by hosting workshops that broaden understanding of what preaching can be in an intergenerational and hybrid worship context in order to expand leaders’ repertoire of meaningful ways of engaging with scripture to facilitate spiritual growth.
George Fox University
Sunggu A. Yang
Sunggu A. Yang
To develop the practice of artistic-holistic preaching using examples from pottery, photography, Indigenous dancing, advertising, and poetry to offer innovative and practical resources for preaching education.
Gregory Ministries DBA Proclaimers Place
To provide continued education related to sermon writing for a cohort of African American preachers through seminars and virtual gatherings that build group solidarity, support, and accountability.
Iglesia Cristiana Charisma
To create a program that trains lay preachers in contextualized preaching and offers practical skills for in-person and online services.