An Interview with Melodie Tunney
Melodie Tunney, Engagement Manager for A.C.T. Intl
We are excited to introduce you to a new member of our ACT Intl staff. Meet Melodie Tunney (also known as “Mel”). Melodie has been involved in the Christian music industry in multiple ways – as a studio singer, songwriter, and artist touring with First Call and also with her husband Dick. Together, they have won 10 Dove Awards, and received 3 Grammy nominations. We are happy to now have her on our team! Our Founder and President, Byron Spradlin, recently spoke with Mel and here’s their conversation.
Byron: Mel, you and I have known each other for many years, but always peripherally. We’ve been aware of each other and watched each other from afar, but now it’s exciting to be working together!
Mel: Absolutely, Byron! I’ve been a “fan” of ACT Intl for many years, with numerous friends who have worked with you, and now I’m so grateful for this new chapter, being on the front lines to see all the Lord is doing through ACT.
Byron: I know your “mission story” but probably not a lot of our readers do. Can you tell us about how missions has played a role in your life through the years?
Mel: Sure! The calling to missions actually began before I was born. My grandmother that I never met – she passed away when my father was 11 years old – wrote a book called “The Home in World Missions”. The premise is that if we are to plant the seeds of a desire to serve in missions in our children, this should happen in our families, in our home lives. Fast forward to when I was 12 years old, and I was blessed to go on a mission trip to South America with our church. My father was our Minister of Music and was a visionary (and brave) man to take 100 plus teens and leaders to Ecuador and Colombia. On that trip, the fire was lit, and I determined as a 12-year-old that I would be a Spanish speaking missionary. I took Spanish in high school and really applied myself to learn the language! When I was 18, I went on the road with the musical group TRUTH, met my husband, Dick, we married and that brought us to Nashville. From there, I became a studio singer for many years. There came a point one day when I asked myself the question, “What happened to that calling to be a Spanish speaking missionary?” And the Lord gently said to me, “Mel, you are singing on most every Spanish Christian album being produced in Nashville. Your voice is going around the world. You may not be living in a hut in Guatemala (which was my picture of mission work), but you ARE being a missionary!” Wow, that was quite a realization for me!
Byron: And now, it’s almost coming full circle for you, isn’t it? Tell everyone what your role is here at ACT Intl.
Melodie and Dick at the Sea of Galilee, on a recent trip to Israel
Mel: My title is Engagement Manager, and I have the privilege of being the first point of contact for ministries that may want to be a part of ACT International. The way it works, as you know, is when someone inquires about ACT, they are sent to me. I set up an interview with them via Zoom, and then have the opportunity to hear their heart regarding where the Lord is leading them and answer any questions they might have about ACT. It has been so inspiring to see the creativity of God through some of these interviews! So far, I’ve spoken with someone about a theatre ministry in the U.S., an opportunity to help school children in Nigeria, and an arts program in Viet Nam. That’s just a sample! It’s amazing to see how God puts dreams in us that will build His kingdom, and then equips us to do them. I was speaking with one of our candidates the other day and we were marveling over how unique we all are in the Body of Christ. The callings of the people I have interviewed are so different from my own – on purpose! We are all a part of His plan.
Byron: You mentioned the word “dream”. That’s a key word for you, isn’t it? Tell everyone why that is.
Mel: Well, I’m glad you asked that! Dick and I have had a phrase we have used through our whole married life of 42 years, and that phrase is “dream in color”. The idea is that if we are walking by faith in our amazing, creative God, we can’t limit Him! He plants BIG dreams in us! So why should we dream in black and white when we should dream IN COLOR! A scripture that continues to be at the forefront in my life is Ephesians 3:20-21: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!”
I don’t ever want to limit what the Lord wants to do in my own life.
Byron: I don’t either! And I’m so glad you are part of our ACT team. May the Lord work through all of us in “Ephesians 3:20-21” ways.