OUR TEAM

For more than forty years, Lonnie Arnold has faithfully served the Church with a deep love for people and a growing conviction that the unity of God's people matters. Throughout every season of ministry, his heart has remained the same, to help others know Christ more deeply and to encourage the Church to reflect His love in the way we live together.

As Executive Director of the Racial Reconciliation Network, Lonnie walks alongside pastors and Christian leaders who long to see the Church become a more visible expression of the unity Jesus prayed for in John 17. He believes reconciliation is not something we accomplish through programs or perfect answers, but something God nurtures as we choose to know one another, listen well, and faithfully walk together in Christ.

Lonnie's journey has been shaped by many different opportunities to serve. He has been a Presbyterian elder, pastored a non-denominational church, served as a chaplain with the Tacoma Rescue Mission, and now serves as Assistant Pastor at New Salem Church in Tacoma, Washington.

Outside the Church, Lonnie completed a 26-year career in law enforcement, retiring as a police sergeant before continuing in public transit leadership, where he oversaw more than 700 employees. While these experiences gave him practical leadership skills, they also deepened his compassion for people and strengthened his desire to lead with humility, wisdom, and grace.

In 2020, during a season when racial division weighed heavily on communities across the nation, Lonnie sensed the Lord gently impressing something on his heart. He became convinced that lasting reconciliation within the Church would begin when pastors first experienced reconciliation with one another. Before churches could walk together, their leaders needed trusted relationships where they could pray together, speak honestly, listen deeply, and grow in love for one another.

That conviction became the beginning of the Racial Reconciliation Network.

As those relationships grew, so did the vision. Together with an incredible community of pastors and Christian leaders, the RRN helped launch Love the City, an initiative that encourages churches within the same neighborhoods to know one another, serve together, worship together, and faithfully care for the communities God has entrusted to them.

Lonnie is also the author of The Unity Mandate, releasing in 2026, and continues to develop resources that help churches move beyond conversations about unity toward lives marked by genuine relationships, biblical faithfulness, and shared mission.

More than any title or accomplishment, Lonnie desires to be known as someone who loves Jesus, loves His Church, and believes that God is still bringing healing where there has been division.

He and his wife, Lorna, have been married for more than forty years. Together they have raised nine children and now enjoy the blessing of being grandparents.

His prayer is simple:

That the Church would become known not only for what it believes, but for how faithfully it loves one another.