July Newsletter

Thank you for choosing to get involved with my ministry here at YouthFront. You have no idea how much your support and prayers mean to me. This is my first experience in the Blogging world. I can admit now that I will probably not be a huge blogger but I do commit to putting my monthly newsletter that I am sending out to my supporters on here. Hope you enjoy, and would love to hear any thoughts or feedback. I am going to be moving in to the Youthfront house on Aug 1, coming up soon!

Below is from my July Newsletter.




Washington DC

Since graduation in early May I have been working full time at Community Covenant Church helping lead the youth in an interim period while they are searching for a new youth pastor. This has been an amazing opportunity but has been a bit draining as well as I try to balance that position with raising support for YouthFront. I had the opportunity a few weeks ago to lead 18 high school students on a mission trip to inner-city Washington DC. This was such a great trip in exposing the students to ways of life and cultures that were completely foreign to them. However it was not just the students who grew on this trip. I was challenged daily by the situations that we experienced. While in DC we were faced with many challenges. While we were there we had a rental van stolen, witnessed a mugging, and numerous other tense situations. Through these situations we were able to witness God show up in a real and tangible way as God provided for us. It was amazing to see how when we intentionally placed ourselves in situations where we were fully relying on God that He showed up and provided for us. In the end we were able to get a new van at no extra charge the same day it was stolen in a location that was closer to us than where we had originally rented. Shane Claiborne in his book Irresistible Revolution talks about how we often don’t see miracles because we leave no room for God to work. We experienced the truth behind that this week. I am challenged to think about what it would look like in my life if I was more willing to consistently place myself in situations that I am not in control and that I am relying on God to see my through the situation. Living this way daily is foreign to us because we are so used to being self sufficient, yet Christians living in poverty all over the world need to have this kind of faith in order to survive. I have often wondered why we hear amazing stories of God doing miracles in obscure places throughout the world but yet here we often don’t see God work in that way.I wonder if it is because in those places people are in situations where all they have is their faith, while we generally have a backup plan to bail us out if God doesn’t come through. Maybe that is why in Luke 6 Jesus says, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God...But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.”

In Christ,
Nate Howard

Click here to see a video i put together from this trip. hope you enjoy.

Working for Youthfront!

Hello Friends,

I am now graduated from college! I recently finished my BA in Ministry from MidAmerica Nazarene University. The last four years here in Kansas City have been a beautiful journey of coming to understand what God has for my life. During my time in Kansas City God has grown a passion in me for urban ministry. He has given me a desire to live among the poor and experience life with them. I am excited because I have been given an exciting opportunity to be an urban missionary here in Kansas City. I will be working with an organization called Youthfront. Youthfront is most well known for their Christian Summer camps for Kids around Kansas City. These camps are amazing but I am going to be a part of a relatively new ministry called the Youthfront School of Formation (YSF). YSF is a community for post high school students to live and learn together in the neglected urban neighborhood of Argentine in the heart of Kansas City. Students will spend a semester living in a house together and learning what it is like to live in community and be involved in urban ministry. The students will be taking 5 classes together in the house, which will be accredited through MidAmerica Nazarene University (where I just graduated from). These classes will be focused around understanding Christian mission, scripture, Sociology/Anthropology of urban life, and practical-hands on experience working in the community.

I will be the Director of Community Life for YSF. I will be living in the house with the students and leading the day-to-day activities such as organizing the meals and corporate prayer times. My role will also focus on the neighborhood outreach and development that the students will be involved in. I am excited about this opportunity because it fits my passions so well as I will be living in community, doing urban ministry, and taking part in theological learning with the students.

Youthfront is able to have amazing opportunities like this for students to be shaped as the followers of Christ by having a staff of full time missionaries. So in order for me to be able to be a part of this exciting opportunity I need to raise support.

I would ask that you would begin to think and pray about the opportunity to join me in this ministry through a monthly donation and through prayer.

Thank you for all your support,
In Christ,
Nate Howard

If you have any more questions or feel that God is leading you to support me financially please email me at howard_nate@yahoo.com