Bishop Dan Schwerin has announced the appointment of Rev. Victor O. Melad Jr. as Lake North District Superintendent, effective July 1, 2024. Rev. Melad currently serves at Edison Park and Oak Park: St. John’s and will follow Rev. Brittany Isaac, who has been appointed as lead pastor at Arlington Heights: First, effective July 1, 2024.

"In my time of prayer and discernment with the Northern Illinois Conference cabinet, while also listening to the Lake North Superintendency Committee, I heard the need to continue with a superintendent who demonstrates creativity and an inclusive heart," Bishop Schwerin said. "I believe that person is Rev. Victor Melad Jr.

"I am excited to work with Rev. Melad’s gifts in administering the church, understanding multiracial congregations, and his keen leadership abilities. Rev. Melad brings experience as a district superintendent in the Philippines and is a person of integrity, a quality needed as superintendents will be given even more responsibility in 2024 as we share episcopal leadership with another conference and build teams that can share our span of care.

Rev. Melad grew up in the Philippines. He is a graduate of the Far East Bible Institute and Seminary in Valenzuela, Philippines, and received his master of divinity degree at the Union Theological Seminary in Dasmarinas, Cavite, Philippines. He served several churches in the Philippines and was named a district superintendent of the Southwest Metro Manila District prior to coming to the Northern Illinois Conference in 2012.

Rev. Melad is committed to revitalizing congregations through vibrant ministries. At Edison Park, he led the church in reaching its benchmark average attendance of 96 to 100 with small groups and financial sustainability in 2019. As the church now discerns a new vision following the COVID pandemic, Rev. Melad continues his dedication to reestablishing vitality through yoking Edison Park and St. John’s in Oak Park.

“I am humbled by the invitation to serve in the cabinet under the leadership of Bishop Dan Schwerin," Rev. Melad said. "It’s another affirmation of the conference’s core value of diversity. I am standing on the shoulders of all Asian immigrants and Filipino-American United Methodists who struggle and contend for representation, voice, and shared leadership in the church. I marvel on the way God calls, that an ordinary servant can be seen and given the opportunity to serve in a larger capacity in the body of Christ.”

Rev. Melad is currently serving on the Congregational Development and Redevelopment Committee as liaison to the Lake North District Building and Location Committee. He serves on the Board of Ordained Ministry and as president of the NIC Fellowship of Asian-American Caucus. He is also a member of the accountability covenant group “The Purple Cow,” a gathering of clergy who support each other’s ministry and live out the mantra “doing things worth noticing,” which urges one to think outside the box.

Bishop Schwerin asks Northern Illinois United Methodists to hold in prayer Rev. Victor Melad Jr., his family, and everyone in an appointment transition.