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John and Sue Elleson pastor Lakewood Chapel in Arlington Heights, Illinois.
| John, Sue, and Family |
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Pastor John pioneered Calvary Chapel in 1987
when he and his wife Sue went out from their first ministry assignment from the great Calvary Temple in Naperville, IL (today
called Calvary Church). Since Pastor Bob Schmidgall took a chance and gave the young pastor his first ministry start in 1985
after John and Sue were just married and graduated from Bible College, it was natural to go by "Chapel"
instead of "Temple" when he and Sue began pioneering their first church, as a way of honoring and showing appreciation.
After Pastor Schmidgall went home to be with the Lord in January 1998,
it became apparent there were some changes on the horizon. Our small church in Chicagoland accidently came
across the Lakewood Church in Houston as we became attracted to their uplifting message. Soon thereafter we began
simulcasting Lakewood's Wednesday night service on our big screen. Even though there is no affiliation
and after asking Lakewood Church if it would be alright, we decided to change our church name from
Calvary Chapel to Lakewood Chapel to reflect our new course. We are very thankful for Lakewood's ministry of love
and hope. Pastor Joel's message of the God of the second chance really took root with us.
