Osceola’s “Freedom for Youth”outreach grows

In 2004, God “birthed” the Freedom for Youth Ministries through an 18-year-old girl found living under a bridge in downtown Des Moines, said Mark Nelson, executive director of the ministry.

The ministry has since grown to include a couple rural outreach centers, one of which is in Osceola –the goal is to eventually have a center in every county in the state, said Rural Outreach Manager Neal Bunn.

The local faith based outreach mission is community development with a focus on youths.

Site coordinator Dana Hembry of Osceola said volunteers want to reach out to all youths in the community, not just those at risk, so children of all ages and backgrounds are invited to come. So far the outreach has served more than 30 youths, she said.

How it started

Nelson had read a series of articles in the Des Moines Register about the growing problems of homeless teens in Des Moines. The articles included interviews with teens who were “products of abuse, abandonment and caught in a cycle of addictions and criminal activity.”

Nelson, who started the ministry said he felt the call of God to reach out to these homeless youth and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them.

• Read more of this story in the March 4 edition of the Sentinel.