Lynn was born and raised in the Brookfield area. Her faith journey started
in the Methodist Church. Searching for a new church home, and at the request
of her daughter to go to the ‘pretty blue church' with her friends, she found
the warm and welcoming congregation at Cross of Life, and joined in 1990.
Lynn immersed herself in the life of the church, serving on committees and
on church council. But having been a musician since she was young,
she found a new instrument in handbells, and joined Gloria Dei Handbells,
as well as sang in Senior Choir. Eventually her love of music led to
becoming the accompanist for both the Youth and Senior Choirs.
While completing her bachelors degree in business, she also learned to play
the organ and officially joined our staff as Organist in 1998. In 2021 she
also joined the Milwaukee Handbell Ensemble, now housed at UNITY’s Christ
the King campus. In April 2023 Lynn became a full-time UNITY staff member
as an Administrator and Director of Music Ministry.
Lynn and her husband, Jeff, were married at COL in
1992. They enjoy spending time together with friends, reading
and relaxing with their family lake home in northern
WI.
A graduate of Brookfield Central High School, Michelle earned her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education
at UW-Madison, followed by her Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Curriculum and Instruction from
Cardinal Stritch University. She later worked for Brookfield Elementary, first as a Learning Support Teacher,
then as a Program Support Teacher, until she was named Associate Principal in 2014.
Michelle first joined our Cross of Life campus with her parents in the 1980’s, later marrying her
husband Mike there in 1989. She and Mike have three children – Mitch, Marcus and Madison – all of
whom grew up immersed in our many different youth offerings.
Over the years, Michelle has served as a Sunday School teacher for Saturday evening services and as a
Confirmation Small Group Leader. Mike serves as Worship Assistant and helped foster the collaboration
between Cross of Life and Christ the King years ago.
In addition to spending as much time as they can with their kids, Michelle and Mike enjoy taking their
road bikes on trails – whether here in Brookfield or all around Wisconsin.
UNITY is excited to welcome another one of its own into a staff role! After assisting with our Youth
Program for the past year, Ryan Johnson is officially serving as UNITY’s Part-Time Youth Director. “I started helping with the Youth Program in January 2024 and have been hired in a part-time, temporary role,” Ryan said. “Right now, UNITY’s focus is to get pastors on board, so I’m helping out this year to give them more time to look for someone full-time. I’m currently working about 8-10 hours per week.”
Ryan is the son of long-time UNITY members Mike and Janice Johnson and grew up at UNITY alongside his three older sisters: Nicole, Rachel and Emily. “I’ve been attending UNITY since I was born in 2001,” Ryan said. “I’ve done every landmark at UNITY: Baptism, Communion, Confirmation.”
Ryan has experienced all of our programs: Sunday School, VBS, camps, and Youth trips – ECRT, Boundary Waters and the ELCA National Youth Gathering. He has also gone on three summer trips to El Salvador: in 2021, 2022 and 2023. “The first trip is cool because you see how much they care and love to meet us,” he said. “But when you go back, you’re going to a community you already met, and it’s fun to see how much they remember you. The kids come running and they know your name and they’re yelling, ‘Hi Ryan!’ That’s pretty amazing.”
Ryan enjoys playing intramural sports, having game nights, going line dancing on Tuesdays, and watching sports. “I like having fun and I want to make sure other people have opportunities to have fun. I love ALL games, and while I love competing, it’s best when there’s a fun aspect you can draw in, like music. I’m always looking for the next game to play and the next event to hold. It’s a very fitting job for me because this job is something I already enjoy doing.”