Leadership

My name is Dave McClellan and I'm the pastor. My wife Karen and I believe God prepared us for this big challenge and we love the job! After growing up in small churches (as a pastor's kid), being on staff at The Chapel in Akron for 9 years, and then at our parent church; Riverwood for 4, I've been able to gain a really broad band of experience in church life. 

I grew up in the Seattle area (before coffee was big), went to college at Grace College (B.A. Speech Communications) and Denver Seminary (M.Div). In 2009 I completed a Ph.D. at in Rhetoric and Communication from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. Communication fascinates me, and I love to see it done creatively. I've been married to Karen for 28 years and we have two kids, Kelsey (25), and Kyle (22).

I love preaching and teaching, Jeeps, backpacking, working around the house, and most everything outdoors.  You can e-mail me at dmcclellan@tinkerscreek.com

Matt Fleagle leads worship most every Sunday.  Matt's versatility on banjo, keyboard, guitar and mandolin lends a folksy spirit to our worship.  Matt's leadership goes beyond musical skill to draw us into wholehearted worship. When he's not playing an instrument, Matt is likely teaching English or hanging out with kids at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy.  Matt's married to Lizzie and lives in Cuyahoga Falls.

Heather Gawne leads our 9 am  Children's Ministry that we call Tinkertown. Laurie Kidwell coordinates our Children's Church ministry which runs from approximately 11am to 11:45. We keep all our kids from pre-school through 3rd grade in the service with us for the first half hour of worship and Children's Sermon. Then the kids are dismissed out to Children's Church.

Both Heather and Laurie work hard to make a learning environment that is interactive, Biblically-based, coordinated, and fun!  We believe that theology matters even in Children's Ministry, so we're careful not to just teach the latest trends.  We try to evaluate our curriculum carefully to keep God at the center and ourselves and our needs at the edges.