In February the General Conference Administrative Committee voted to appoint Manuel Arteaga as director of the Center for Urban Mission (CFUM) and Bledi Leno as director of the Center for Secular and Post-Christian Mission (CSPM).
CFUM and CSPM are two of six Global Mission Centers operated by the Office of Adventist Mission. These centers help Seventh-day Adventists build bridges of understanding and friendship with people from major world religions and worldviews. They provide contextualized disciple-making resources and help identify models for establishing new communities of believers.
Manuel Arteaga succeeds Bledi Leno as director of CFUM. He currently serves as the senior pastor of White Memorial church in Los Angeles, California, United States.
Born and raised in Mexico, Arteaga has more than 19 years of experience ministering in multilingual, multicultural urban contexts and brings extensive experience in church planting. Fluent in both Spanish and English, he has served immigrant and second-generation communities in ways that bridge generations and cultures. He is currently completing a doctorate in urban ministry. He and his wife, Keren, have three children.
“Urban ministry, for me, has never been theoretical; it has always been relational, incarnational, and practical,” Arteaga says. “There are several ways a local church can relate to a community. It can be in the community, where there is proximity but no true presence. It can be forthe community, where there is service but little relationship. Or it can be with the community, committing to a shared life with the city. I’m convinced this model best harmonizes with the kingdom of God.”
“We are delighted to welcome Manuel Arteaga to the Global Mission Centers,” says ChanMin Chung, the centers’ director. “He brings a profound passion for urban ministry and a genuine compassion for the souls who live in our cities. His relational approach to ministry will be a tremendous blessing as we seek to share Christ’s love in these complex environments.”
Bledi Leno succeeds Brendan Pratt as director of (CSPM). Pratt was elected last year as president of the Australian Union Conference. Leno has ministered for more than 18 years in New York City and has served as director of the Center for Urban Mission for the past three years. He is completing a Doctor of Ministry degree focusing on urban mission and brings extensive experience in engaging secular and post-Christian populations through relational and innovative ministry approaches. He speaks Albanian, English, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.
Born and raised in Albania—the only officially atheist country in the world at the time—Leno has lived and ministered in highly secularized urban contexts, including New York City, London, and São Paulo. This background gives him firsthand experience and insight into secular and nonreligious worldviews. He and his wife, Gabriella, have two sons.
“In a secular age, people aren’t asking, ‘Is Christianity true?’ as much as they are asking, ‘Is it meaningful, is it good, and does it belong in my world?’ ” Leno says. “And more often than not, they aren’t asking those questions at all. Our calling is not simply to give answers, but to embody a faith that can be experienced before it is explained—moving people from connection to community, and from community to a life with Jesus.”
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