Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grants from the CICW

Could your community benefit from a Vital Worship, Vital Preaching GFrant?

Every congregation has hopes for how worship might deepen the faith of its people. Maybe you've been dreaming about strengthening intergenerational worship, exploring new ways to engage Scripture in your church services, cultivating richer congregational singing on Sunday mornings, or helping your community better connect worship with everyday discipleship throughout the week. But so often, the missing ingredient isn't the idea; it's the time, resources, or encouragement to actually pursue it.

The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship has announced its latest recipients of its round of Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grants, bi-annual grants which provide funding for projects that foster thoughtful, theologically grounded worship in churches and other Christian worshiping communities across the United States and Canada. Grants typically range from $8,000 to $25,000 and support year-long projects designed to strengthen public worship and connect it with Christian discipleship and faith formation.

The grants aren't intended to fund routine ministry expenses. Instead, they provide funding so churches have the freedom to ask questions like:

• What is God inviting our congregation to learn about worship?
• How could worship better shape our life together throughout the week?
• What new practices might help people of all ages participate more fully?
• How can our worship reflect the gifts, cultures, and stories of our community?

Past grant projects have explored topics such as intergenerational worship, storytelling, songwriting, accessibility, cultural engagement, pilgrimage, the Psalms, visual arts, and preaching. Many projects have also brought churches together across denominations to learn from one another.

One aspect of the program that stands out is its emphasis on collaboration. Rather than asking one person to write a proposal alone, the application process encourages churches to gather a team that can pray, dream, study, and discern together before developing a project. That collaborative approach often becomes just as valuable as the grant itself.

If your congregation has been talking about trying something new, or if you've been sensing that God may be leading your worshiping community in a fresh direction, this is a great opportunity to explore. The deadline for the next round of grants, which is focused on Worshipping Communities, is October 15, 2026.

Have you or your church ever received a Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grant? We'd love to hear about your experience or the ideas your community is dreaming about in the comments.