Leadership

Our church is made up of people from different backgrounds and all ages. One thing remains constant, however – the stories of lives changed through the power of Jesus Christ. We believe our church is best when our people are involved in worshiping, growing, and serving.

Dave Corlew

Senior Pastor

Dave joined the staff of Pathway Church in November of 2005. His primary responsibilities include teaching on Sunday mornings, providing leadership for the elders and staff, and championing the vision and values of Pathway. He is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute, Trinity International University, and Moody Graduate School. Before coming to Pathway Dave was involved in youth ministry for 24 years.

He is the proud husband of Karen and father to four adult children: Becky, Emily, Lacey (Daryn), and Micah (Angelika). Dave enjoys hanging out with his dogs, Moose and Buddy, playing Scrabble, cheering for the Chicago Cubs, Bears, and Blackhawks, and spending time with his family – especially his grandkids! His long term project is section hiking the Appalachian Trail – only about 1,800 miles to go.

Chris Modrzejewski

Family Pastor

Chris is a 2005 graduate of Trinity International University in Deerfield, IL. He’s married to Lisa, and they are the proud parents of Rachel, Josiah, Abigail, and Micah. In his spare time he enjoys reading, running, and spending time with his family. He’s a devout Cubs and Bears fan and has been known to drop everything for free tickets.

Chris came on board here in 2006. His primary responsibilities include leading teams of adults to minister to children and adolescents, helping parents develop faith at home, and teaching in our Sunday morning services.

Jc Pappan

Student Ministry Director

Jc and his wife, Rylie, joined Pathway in October 2023. Jc graduated from Grace College with a degree in Biblical Studies and also attended Cowley County Community College where he studied creative writing. His primary responsibility is leading our middle and high school ministries, but he also oversees the development of our tech team.

He loves spending time with youth and their families. In his spare time he likes to read, write, watch movies, play disc golf and video games, walk, and play with Rocky Balboa (his dog).

Denise Johnson

Worship Arts Director

Denise loves creating space for intimate moments between us and God where we can lift our voices together to celebrate the Risen Christ – as she describes it, the best job in the church! She went to McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul, MN as a vocal performance major.

She has three adult kids: Zachariah (Bethany), Abby (Blake), and Nichole. Denise loves walking, jogging, biking, hiking, reading, watching movies, eating, playing with her super-spoiled dog, Cambrie, traveling, camping, boating, skiing, and especially coffee!

Ellie Sheldahl

Worship Arts Intern

Ellie has a passion for the three Ms – music, media, and ministry. She recently worked as an intern at a kids’ camp doing everything from saddling horses to learning the sound board, lighting, and band setups. She took most of her college general education classes in high school and is taking a gap year to work in ministry and gain different hands-on life experiences.

She likes to edit video, write songs, play guitar and piano, and hang out with her dog, Brice. She is passionate about creatively and positively impacting the world with videos and music and is excited to learn more about sound and worship here at Pathway Church.

Jim Young

Director of Operations

Jim wears a lot of hats at Pathway Church. He oversees areas including facilities, technology, finances, policies, and legal matters. In some of these areas he gets directly involved, while in others, he leads a team. Since 2003, he has worked hard behind the scenes to make sure the ministries of Pathway have maximum impact.

Jim is married to Elissa. He likes to CAD design jewelry, 3D printing, and has enjoyed computer programming since before he entered kindergarten! Jim has been involved in mission trips all across the US as well as Canada, Brazil, Kenya, and South Africa.

Becky Kinnee

Outreach Influence Team Leader

Becky loves walking alongside ministry leaders as they encourage each other and their ministry teams to be more outreach focused. She works at Wheeling High School as an English teacher and EL Division Head. She majored in English at Illinois Wesleyan University.

Becky met Josh in first grade, and they are now married with three kids: Jane, Miles, and Jenna. When she’s not driving her kids all over the northwest suburbs, she likes to read and walk.

Carolyn Eiter

Administrative Assistant

Carolyn has a variety of responsibilities along with day-to-day office work. Her main focus is gathering information from staff and ministry leaders in order to keep our database and website up-to-date and to communicate effectively with our attendees.

She and her handsome husband, Chuck, like to hike, bike, and hang out with their new granddaughter and their three grown kids: Tim (Andrea), Ellen, and Andy (Martha).

Meet Our Elders

Dave Corlew

Dave joined the staff of Pathway Church in November of 2005. His primary responsibilities include teaching on Sunday mornings, providing leadership for the elders and staff, and championing the vision and values of Pathway. He is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute, Trinity International University, and Moody Graduate School. Before coming to Pathway Dave was involved in youth ministry for 24 years.

He is the proud husband of Karen and father to four adult children: Becky, Emily, Lacey (Daryn), and Micah (Angelika). Dave enjoys hanging out with his dogs, Moose and Buddy, playing Scrabble, cheering for the Chicago Cubs, Bears, and Blackhawks, and spending time with his family – especially his grandkids! His long term project is section hiking the Appalachian Trail – only about 1,800 miles to go.

Patrick Dawson

Patrick serves as the Director of Innovation, Teaching and Learning for the Winnetka Public Schools District 36. He and his wife, Christina, have two adorable children: Marly and Henry. He enjoys attending concerts, gardening, traveling, and trying new foods.

Patrick is passionate about welcoming and getting to know every person that walks through the doors of our church!

Ming Fong

God has given Ming a heart to serve, and he is humbled to be in a position where he can care for the church as an elder.

Ming majored in Electrical Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and works at Shure as a FPGA & Integrated Circuit Design Engineer. He and his wife, Anne – a music teacher at Emerson Middle School, have a little boy, Jonah.

His interests include music, exercise, video games, disc golf, and building things (ranging from bikes to woodworking).

Jim Johnson

Jim has been attending Pathway Church since 1992. He and his wife Nancy have four kids: Allison, Annie (Kristian), Matt, and Mitch. Jim is a self-described “sports nut” (Go Sox!!!). His favorite sports moment was being in attendance at game 2 of the ’05 World Series when Scott Podsednik hit a walk-off homerun!

He enjoys the opportunity to be a servant leader to the people of Pathway and the surrounding community and seeing the life-changing power of Jesus Christ in people’s lives. 

Jordan Kerr

Jordan is married to Vickie and works in IT at a medical diagnostic equipment company. He enjoys grilling and barbecuing (pulled pork is his specialty), designing electronic control systems for around the house, playing video games, and watching football on Sunday afternoons. In the past he worked as a professional actor in the Cleveland area where he performed pieces onstage as well as murder mystery dinner events.

God has given him a heart for shepherding and encouraging others. He is energized by seeing people cross the line of faith and then grow deeper in their relationship with Jesus.

Josh Kinnee

Josh graduated with a Math-Secondary Education degree from Trinity International University in Deerfield, IL and works at ISTO Advisors in Lake Forest as a Wealth Advisor.

He and his wife, Becky, have three kids: Jane, Miles, and Jenna. Becky is an English teacher and instructional coach at Wheeling High School. He enjoys going on walks, hikes, and bike rides with his family and loves traveling and visiting new places. 

Josh’s desire is for God to use him however He sees fit to support, encourage, lead, and guide the local church.

Jim Ray

Jim graduated from Taylor University and works for Thrivent Financial Services in software development. He and his wife, SuZane, have four grown children: Nate (Hannah), Dan, Margo (David), and Melody, and a grandson, Gideon. SuZane teaches private music lessons and plays the piano on the worship team.

Jim loves the outdoors – camping, hiking, biking, and running. He also likes to cook. (He is a former Pathway Chili Cook-off winner!) Jim and SuZane love working with kids and are the Awana directors here at Pathway Church.