Born in Taiwan, Jeremiah came to the States as a foreign student like many of his peers. At the urge of a Christian relative, Jeremiah and his sister attended a neighborhood Sunday school as little kids, where he received Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Later he witnessed his parents’ conversion to Christianity in their senior ages. Ever since his college years, the ideas of cross-church, non-denominational, and church unity have been deeply implanted in Jeremiah’s heart. He formed a Bible study group on the campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, and was involved in the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship before devoting his energies to the Upper Room ministry. He has been on short mission trips to Hungary, Belize, minority tribes in southwest China, and Honduras. He received engineering degrees from National Taiwan University and University of Maryland and studied briefly at Capital Seminary and Virginia Theological Seminary. He is married to Cheryl Chen, has two children, and currently resides in Maryland.
Jeremiah’s invaluable 2-year experience in children’s ministry at their former church paved the way for what we know as URHOP today. He has been an interpreter (between Chinese and English) at many Christian conferences for the past 20 years. He has much passion for prayer and worship, raising up the next generations, and church unity. His heart feels for every kind of Christian ministries, while groaning for institutionalized, passive, and compromised church groups. Besides music, he is also a sports fan and avid runner.
Cheryl was born in a large Christian family in Taiwan. Studying and church constituted most of her life as a student. After receiving her dentistry degree from National Taiwan University and gaining some work experience, she came to the U.S and obtained dentistry degrees from Howard University and Boston University. By God’s grace, Cheryl started her own dental practice from scratch early on and has been blessed since.
Nobody could possibly foresee a then quiet and timid girl now developing into a visionary and strong woman. Years of Christian practices have molded her into a seasoned leader who not only gave birth to URHOP, but also constantly shapes it up according to wisdom from God. Her diligent work ethnic is the foundation of everything she does. She has been teaching children’s Sunday school for nearly 30 years, and plays an integral role amongst Bible study leaders, church small-group leaders, and children’s ministry leaders. Cheryl likes to see our next generation become spiritual leaders and leaders in every walk of life.
She and her husband, Jeremiah, raised two daughters who have become their assistants and partners in ministry.