Bible study was a personal discipline Howie Meloch started before he enrolled at Washington University in St. Louis. But he was surprised that his spiritual growth accelerated as he got involved in InterVarsity. “I look at those four years of college as being pretty foundational for the course and the direction that was set for my life,” he said. “InterVarsity was also the place where I found community and dealt with the challenges of school.”
During his sophomore year, Howie was invited to become one of the leaders of the InterVarsity chapter. As he considered that decision, he read Isaiah 6, where God made an invitation to the prophet. Howie realized that saying yes to God was not a one-time decision but a lifestyle. Like Isaiah, he responded, “Here I am, send me.”
Howie also said yes to rooming with the leader of the independent Black Campus Fellowship and working together in ministry. “I saw the power in being reconciled with one another and loving one another,” he said.
Lessons in Arkansas
After graduation, Howie joined InterVarsity staff and was assigned to two campuses, The College of the Ozarks and the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville. When the University of Arkansas chapter dwindled to three students, he felt like a failure.
But at the same time he was looking for opportunities for cross-cultural friendships, so he decided to join the campus Gospel Choir. The professor who led the choir was a music minister in a local church. Howie was impressed by how the professor thanked God continuously, through both good and bad experiences. Howie’s prayer life and Bible study experiences also grew during that time.
“I think that God did a number of transformative things in my life through being involved in the choir,” he said. “God opened my eyes and began to teach me what it looks like to minister to Black students on campus. That became my focus as a minister there in Arkansas. Then when I left Arkansas, God opened up more doors for me to minister to Black students.”
Returning to St. Louis
Howie returned to St. Louis at the same time that the Black Campus Fellowship at Washington University requested an InterVarsity staff member be assigned to them. As Howie worked with them, the chapter grew to 90 students. He also helped set the groundwork to plant another chapter at Harris-Stowe University, a Historically Black College in St. Louis.
When a member of the Washington University fellowship joined staff and was assigned to the chapter, Howie was given broader responsibilities. Today his duties include overseeing Black student ministry in four states as he serves as Associate Regional Director for the Central region, based in St. Louis.
“I’ve been amazed at where God has taken me as I’ve said yes to him, but I decided to continue to say yes and not argue with God about my qualifications,” he said. “I’m going to trust God. It is clear to me that God continues to call me to reach Black students on campus.”
“Howie has lived a life of saying yes to Jesus,” said Regional Director Jon Hietbrink, Howie’s supervisor. “Howie’s leadership has had a catalytic effect in a variety of spheres across our region. He’s consistently taken steps to combat different ‘Goliaths,’ whether it be schools where we felt like we could never plant (like Harris-Stowe State University), or problems we could never solve (finding new sources of funding for minority staff). God has blessed his courageous faith.”
___________
