About

Photo Credit: Michael Helm

Todd Leonard lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Robin, and three daughters, Halle, Abigail and Emma.  He currently works as senior pastor at the Glendale City Church in Glendale, California.  He is interested in helping people discover spirituality in individuals, cultures, religions and lifestyles that differ from their own and building a radically-inclusive congregation devoted to community transformation in the city of Glendale.

Since Todd arrived at the end of 2012, Glendale City Church has helped launch two non-profit organizations to serve the City of Glendale:

• The Glendale Communitas Initiative, an independent non-profit organization, connected faith groups from different denominations and religions to the non-profit, civic and business sectors of Glendale in a collaborative approach of partnering with families struggling in poverty to help them break out of that cycle.  In January 2020, Communitas merged with Home Again Los Angeles to expand its work in homelessness prevention and recovery for families.
• Caesura Youth Orchestra provides instrument instruction and orchestra participation for students in the Glendale Unified School district who do not have access to music education due to school cutbacks and are unable to afford private music classes

In 2020, Todd joined the Coalition for an Anti-Racist Glendale, a group of citizens and community leaders devoted to helping break this city free from its “Sundown Town” history of excluding Black people from residency.  And, in a collaborative effort with the coalition and other local organizations, launched the Glendale Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Walk in 2021, a new community tradition that celebrates progress and calls for rededication to the ideals of Dr. King for the city of Glendale.

Prior to Glendale City Church, Todd spent ten years of ministry focusing on young adult ministry and church planting.  At nearby Vallejo Drive Church of Seventh-day Adventists, during a brief one-and-a-half year stint, he developed Stage Four, an innovative, bridge-building gathering between high school students and young adults that drew 40-50 high school upperclassmen and 15-25 college students and twenty-somethings each week.

From 2003-2011, Todd planted and led a young adult church in suburban Atlanta.  The Canton Adventist Church started as a small group and grew to a thriving congregation of 70 active members defined by small group gatherings, active engagement in its neighborhood, ecumenical bridge-building and a worship gathering shaped by the contemporary use of historic Christian liturgy.  To read more about it’s journey, read this article from Spectrum.

While he was developing Canton Adventist, Todd also joined the leadership team of Buckhead Community Fellowship, a contemporary church started by volunteer, non-clergy leaders with a passion to be, first and foremost, a fully-engaged compassionate ministry to the city of Atlanta and, secondly, a welcoming congregation to people from all walks of life.  It is a faith community determined to be more than a Saturday morning destination.  From 2007-2011, Todd assisted with preaching, small group development and ministry administration.

Todd received a Master of Divinity degree from Andrews University in 1999 and a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Southern Adventist University in 1997.