Mang Sonna became the Executive Director of Bethel Neighborhood Center in May 2009. Prior to becoming the executive director, Mang served as the assistant program director at Bethel for two and half years. He also served as the Vice Principal and Principal of Rayburn College in Lamka, Manipur, India, for five years. He earned his Master of Science degree in Geography from North-Eastern Hill University in Shillong, Meghalaya, India. He graduated with a Master of Divinity degree from Central Baptist Theological Seminary in May 2004, and received his doctorate degree from the same seminary in December 2021. His doctoral dissertation is on "Christian Hospitality to Marginalized Persons: A Case Study of Bethel Neighborhood Center in Kanas City, Kansas."

Bethel gives him the opportunity to use his native language, other languages he knows, all his skills and creativity in the Bethel ministry.  He said, “I am blessed to be able to use my whole being to serve God and God’s people. God is using me to be the voice for the voiceless to offer hope and help to those who need them the most.”  

Mang oversees the programs and services, makes and executes plans, travels to speak at churches and visit donors, advocates, and interprets for refugees. In addition, Mang serves as one of the pastors of the Bethel Center Baptist Church.  The lives that are transformed and the new hope people find because of the Bethel ministry excites him the most.

He believes that God made each human being equal, with a special purpose, and loves everyone the same. He said, “An inner-city ministry like Bethel has many opportunities to show God’s love in words and in deeds. I am investing my life in the Bethel ministry because it emits the love of Christ and offers hope to the hopeless and empowers those who are powerless to become what God wants them to be.”

Mang’s top three goals are to bring financial stability, to have a new multipurpose hall, and to fulfill Bethel's mission of offering HOPE by making Bethel a place of love, acceptance and renewal for all ages.

He is confident that by the grace of God and with the support of the churches, the community, and God’s people, Bethel will continue to serve as the hands and feet of Jesus Christ in our community.