After serving as Chief Operating Officer for Youth with a Mission (YWAM) for many years, Andrew Nielson and his wife Tonya did as many others did in 2020 and re-evaluated their purpose and path. Through a prayerful process, the couple asked “are we doing what we are supposed to be doing?” and explored how they might continue to bring value and service to people. They allowed themselves to “erase the whiteboard” and explore and dream about what it might look like for them to move forward with something new, challenging and inspiring. 

They had a longtime friendship with Jed and Natalie, who at the time were in real estate and who had also worked for them at YWAM. Observing their friends in real estate sparked a desire in Andrew to care for people through one of the largest investments of their life. “I loved the idea of helping people create a home…. they are deciding where to put down roots, where to raise their family, and where they want to do life. We pondered, ‘what if we jump in and serve people in this way?’” They joined their friends Jed and Natalie, who were team leaders at Summit Group. “We dove into real estate in the madness of COVID when interest rates were low. We were thrown into the fire but we loved every second of it! Making the shift has been a tremendous blessing.” 

Andrew sold 24 homes in his first year and recently closed his 100th transaction after two and a half years in the industry. He loves working with first time home buyers, VA buyers, and people looking for short-term rental properties. He also enjoys working with couples or families who have been overseas and are looking for a new home back on the mainland. No matter what type of buyer or seller he’s working with, his goal is to do what he can to eliminate the stresses from the transaction. He’s also passionate about looking at the long term potential of a property and helping his buyers paint a picture of what a home could look like when they can’t see past what’s there. He then takes the next step to pull in contractors to help make his clients’ visions a reality. Andrew and Tonya love the listing side as well. Tonya is a licensed agent and a designer who  partners with Jed’s wife Natalie on the staging for listings to help get the homes ready for sale and to maximize profits. 

Andrew and Tonya have lived in Colorado for 21 years and have been married for 19 years. Andrew’s involvement with YWAM is what originally brought him to Colorado from Atlanta. His intention was to be in Colorado just a short while, but he never left. “I fell in love with the mountains and everything Colorado had to offer. I was a ski bum and enjoyed being outside all year long. It’s really cool to see how Colorado Springs has expanded and to watch parts of the city be revitalized.” Andrew and Tonya developed long-term friendships here and have enjoyed helping many of them in their real estate journeys. Andrew loves the city, the communities, and the people here. “It’s an amazing place to live and an incredible real estate market to be part of.” 

The Nielsons have two teenage boys, Sayler and Maddis. “One of our values is to run our business as a family. We pull our boys in - they help with events, help stage homes, and even help clean properties. We want our boys to feel like they are part of the work and to learn in the process too.” Both boys are athletic and even when business is booming, Andrew and Tonya make it a priority to be present parents and attend all their kids’ sporting events. Outside of work, this family enjoys staying active by skiing, camping, hunting, fishing, and hitting the trails. They live close to Ute Valley Park and appreciate being able to be on the trails within a few minutes. Andrew loves mountain biking, stating that it’s his outdoor gym membership, and shared that his team sponsors the Trails and Taproom race team. Andrew is still involved in YWAM as the chair of the Legal Board of Directors. 

Additionally, this family loves adventure and enjoys traveling. They love both the mountains and the beach. International travel has been a passion since Andrew’s early YWAM days. “We love going overseas and have led many people across 70 different countries. We love seeing bibles go out globally and observing how lives are transformed.” This longtime history and experience with international travel helps him better serve his clients who are moving here from other countries. 

Andrew reflected on some of the hard lessons he learned his first year. He quickly learned that there were some things that were just beyond his control and he needed to focus his time and energy on what he could control. “I also learned that the pace of the market can quickly destroy your quality of life and how easily relationships with your family can be impacted when you’re always on call and answering the phone. I found myself becoming someone I didn’t love. When I was with people, I wasn’t present - my mind was always elsewhere. I saw that time goes fast; you can get really busy chasing commissions or a lifestyle but it’s important not to let busyness become an identity. I needed to reprioritize and put my marriage and my family first and to cherish my time with them. That was probably my biggest lesson: learning what it really means to be present with my wife, kids, and other people.” Andrew still embraces the hard work, but also makes time to play hard and enjoy life with the ones he loves! Andrew shared how important it is to be teachable, humble and open to feedback from the people who love you when you’re drifting.  

Andrew’s life mantra is “To love God and to love people.”  This has served as a good personal audit for him. “When I love God, I’m more patient and tolerant and I’m a good steward of what’s been given to us.” Andrew is a life-long learner and is an advocate of the team dynamic. Andrew is grateful to be on Jed’s team and added that Jed is well known and well respected. He believes that “rising tides raise all ships” and enjoys collaboration, friendship and mentorship in the real estate community. “I love seeing how we can work together. I have people in my corner cheering me on, who want to see me do well and I have the same heart for other people, wanting to see them do well too.” This is an agent who highly values hard work, strength of relationships and enjoying the good things in life!