Channahon United Methodist Church

Education & Ministry

I studied at KMTS (Korean Methodist Theological Seminary) and earned a Master’s Degree in Theology. I was ordained from the Korean Methodist Church in 1991. This year I am celebrating my 30 years of ministry as an elder. In 1992, I was drafted into the Korean Army as a chaplain and served until 1995. After being discharged from the military service, I served at one of the biggest mega-churches in Korea, Manna Methodist Church, which had 10,000 members, As the Associate Pastor, I worked with 200 Sunday school teachers and helped the Christian Education Program grow from 500 people in Sunday school attendance to 1,500. In 1999, I felt a strong need to study media communications to reach the next generation, who lives in a multi-media culture. I came to the United States and earned my second Master’s degree in Religious Communications at the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. I learned how to develop effective media tools for my ministry and I mastered high levels of creating videos, publications, web pages, and graphic design. In 2003, I was called to serve at a Korean UMC in Toledo, OH. In 2005, I was transferred into the Northern Illinois Conference and served at Baker Memorial UMC in St. Charles until 2009 as the Associate Pastor and Director of Christian Education. In 2009, I was appointed to Calvary UMC in Stockton and served for 5 years. For the past 7 years, I have been serving the Church of the Incarnation in Arlington Heights, IL.

For emergencies you can reach Pastor Doh at 630-740-9275

 Kris Hayden – Administrative Assistant

I studied piano from the age of 6, but my parents have pictures of me singing and playing the piano at the age of 2. My father’s mother was a preacher’s kid, growing up in northwestern Wisconsin and later near Freeport IL. She was a self taught musician, learning from “The Etude” magazine that came to her house each week. She played piano, organ and directed several choirs for more than 50 years in her church. She also taught piano lessons to a few generations of farm kids in the area. On Sundays when my family visited, she would give me a lesson, we’d play duets, and she gave me church music to play that was appropriate for my level of skill at the time. Special times would be when we would go to her church and I would get to play the pipe organ. We would play piano – organ duets. My favorite part was watching her legs play the petals. My parents provided me with continuous lessons and encouragement throughout my education in the small town of Pearl City, IL where I grew up. Back in the day, I earned a $12K music scholarship from Coe College in Cedar Rapids, IA, even though I was a chemistry major. I continued to take lessons throughout the college years and really grew as a musician. Once in medical school, I rented a piano so I could take “study breaks”. Once I graduated from med school, I bought a $300 garage sale piano and still have this gem. I’ve gotten my money’s worth for sure. I have lived in Channahon since 1996. For a short period of time, I periodically played for services at Resurrection Lutheran Church. I am a board certified family physician. I had a practice in Morris from 1996-2012. After that I was a traveling hospitalist. Currently, I serve the inmate population at Stateville prison. I believe God put me there to serve these men and care for their medical needs. It is challenging, but also can be very rewarding.

I started playing piano for Sunday School and church services at the age of 9. “Trust and Obey” was the first hymn I ever learned and performed. I have always adored playing for church. By taking this position as pianist, I am trusting and obeying Him, that He will give me the time and the talent and the dedication it takes for this wonderful opportunity. I will always do my best for this congregation.

24751 W. Eames

Channahon, Il. 60410

815-467-5275

Fax: (815) 467-7435