Building up men to be better husbands, fathers, leaders at work and leaders in the community.
October 2022
Mark Nelson
Freedom for Youth
Mark is a native of Red Oak, Iowa and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a major in accounting from Iowa State University.
He worked for three years as a Certified Public Accountant in Des Moines and 10 years with an insurance company serving as an Assistant Vice President of Marketing. In 1998 Mark left his career and followed God’s calling to work with inner-city youth. Mark served as the Youth Director and Chief Financial Officer for Good Samaritan Urban Ministries for five years before launching a new organization in 2003, called Freedom for Youth Ministries.
Today Freedom for Youth serves hundreds of youth, ages 5-17, at Freedom’s campus in Des Moines, and has launched youth ministry programs in 16 other Iowa communities. Freedom for Youth Ministries operates two subsidiaries, Freedom Blend Coffee and Freedom Construction Services, to provide employment training for young adults ages 18-25.
Mark has been married to his wife Laurie for 35 years, and they have three daughters and three grandchildren.
