Pastor Mike Hsu is forty-years-old and has been married to his wife, Tanya, since 1995.  Together they have three children: Mia, Isaac and Calvin and a much-loved foster son Darius.  Mike came to know the Lord through the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ as a freshman at the University of Kansas.  Mike is also a graduate of Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, FL. and is currently working on a Doctor of Ministry program at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis.

One of Mike’s great loves is reading.  To learn about some of his current reading also some of his doctoral work, you can visit his blog called “The Eudaimonia Blog” at www.hsumike.blogspot.com.  Also, Mike is an avid Kansas Jayhawk basketball fan and can talk for hours about his team’s glorious runs in 1952, 1988 and 2008.  Mike loves motorcycles (owns a Suzuki Boulevard s50), enjoys a fine handmade cigar on special occasions and loves animals.  The Hsus own a pet piranha named Gerhardus Vos, a cockapoo named Belle and will likely have a pet rat named Reepicheep before too long (this is an ongoing discussion between Tanya and Mia, with Mia begging mom and mom deliberating).  Perhaps the gift Mike enjoys the most in life is spending time with his family.  He met his wife Tanya when they were both sixteen, has know her twenty-four years and been married to her sixteen of those years.  The Hsus are deeply grateful for their children as they believed at one time they would not be able to have biological children.

Christ’s Cross and Resurrection are Mike’s greatest passions in preaching as Mike is convinced that all of Scripture speaks to their centrality in all of life.  Also, Mike is learning that the Cross and Resurrection not only holds the hope of reconciliation for God’s people, but also for the entirety of the created order as well (Colossians 1:19,20; Romans 8:19-21).

Mike continues to travel to Haiti as often as he can to serve with Grace Chapel people as well as others from Lincoln who belong to other churches.  Also, Mike has spent the last four summers with the Omaha tribal peoples of Walthill, but he also believes that it is important to reinforce with the Church that not only do we serve Christ by “going” places, but that we serve Him right where we are.  As Mike has been emphasizing a lot as a result of his doctoral work, “vocation is calling.” So one practice Mike has implemented at Grace Chapel is not only praying for the “distant missionaries” but also the “butchers, bakers and candlestick makers” and that each of us has a significant call from God as well, that vocation is integral to the mission of God in the world.  Finally, Mike is passionate to see a “Unitive Vision of Christendom” as he calls it, where Christ followers across denominational and ecclesial lines learn more and more what it is to celebrate one another, without feeling the need to minimize the importance of their particular church distinctives, at the same time.

During Mike’s journey with the Lord, there have been joys and sorrows, valleys and challenges but also tremendous blessings.  One of his favorite Scripture verses is Zephaniah 3:17: “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”

Kelly grew up “inside the beltway”, just outside of Washington, DC.  She came to know the Lord as a high school student through the ministry of Young Life.  She was an education major at the University of Maryland, College Park.  Kelly worked for a company that brought her out to Nebraska.  She loved it and decided to stay!

Kelly was among the small group from Zion that planted Grace Chapel in 2000.  Monday through Friday from 1-6pm, you will find her in the church office ready and eager to find answers and solutions to your questions and concerns.

Kelly loves great literature & plays in the bookstore in the Student Union at UNL’s downtown campus most mornings. She loves getting back to DC to visit family, friends, & great museums!  Her favorite verse is 2 Cor 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold the new has come!”

Pastor Ben, after graduating from Reformed Theological Seminary in 2008, has been blessed to serve at Grace Chapel in his hometown of Lincoln for the last 4 years.  Ben has been married to his wonderful bride (and better half) Katie for seven years and they live with their cockapoo Coltrane, who is spoiled, a little overweight, but just might be the best dog ever.

Ben enjoys good drink, good company, good books, bad sci-fi films, fantasy literature, role-playing games, Rex Burkhead, and Rock and Roll.  He is convinced that Bruce Springsteen’s 1975 classic Thunder Road is a near perfect rock song and considers Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, the Boss and Bono to be some of his closest friends.  Still, the song that has captured his heart and rules his life is the gospel of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom and Ben longs for that day when all of creation will take that sweet song upon it’s lips.

“Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The Lord reigns!  Let the sea roar, and roar, and the fullness thereof: let the fields rejoice, and all that is within them.  Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the Lord, because he comes to judge the earth.” 1 Chronicles 16: 31-33

What Ben’s been listening to lately:  1) The Tallest Man on Earth: Sometimes the Blues is Just a Passing Bird 2) Bon Iver: Bon Iver 3) Smith’s Cloud: A Change of Days

What Ben’s been reading:  1) The Letters of JRR Tolkien 2) Till Keller’s Generous Justice 3) G.K. Chesterton’s Orthodoxy

Melissa Taylor is a transplant from Mexico!  She moved to Norfolk, NE with her family as a teen.  Melissa came to Lincoln to attend UNL.  She graduated in 2008 with dual degrees in Psychology and International Relations.  While attending the University, Melissa volunteered with FUEL, the youth program at Grace Chapel.  Melissa returned to Lincoln last summer after completing a year long internship in Washington, DC.  And in January Melissa enthusiastically accepted the position as Youth Director at Grace Chapel!  Melissa is thrilled to be a part of the staff at Grace and we are thrilled to have her on staff with us!  She is humbled by the opportunity to serve the Church and the youth at Grace!

Melissa loves the adventure of travel, the comfort of a warm fire, the company of a good book, and the rhythm of an engaging conversation!

Crystal Davy was born in Mexico to missionary parents.  Her family moved to Norfolk, Nebraska, in 2000 where she graduated from high school. Crystal received her degree in Secondary Spanish Education from the University of Nebraska Lincoln. While still very foreign at heart, Crystal has grown to love the plains and the people who have built deep community here in Nebraska.
Crystal is wife to the incomparable Ben Davy.  Her daughter Addison was born in May 2008, followed by Nora in February 2010. They all play “tea party” a lot.  She has not taught them Spanish like she should.  Her hobbies include music, reading, baking, running, and conjugating verbs. One of her greatest joys is the experience of praising God with His people.