Nurturing is the act of caring for the well being of someone. As Christians and leaders, we, of course, care for God’s people. But again, this little four part plan is specifically geared toward those who have a call, instincts and giftedness toward full time, all out ministry roles.
The nurturing step is something that will go on for a long time and probably over laps in all these areas. And it’s a fine line – we don’t nurture just to get them into ministry roles around us, but because we love them and truly care for them. We truly care that they might have the sense of their gifts and skills being awakened in them. And even if something doesn’t click right off the bat, we still nurture them, out of care and love.
The act of nurturing is to help them grow. Help bring them up. To cultivate in them a love for God and start a process of seeking him in all they do. Nurturing has to do with friendships, conversations, and consistency. Nurturing is also something that has to be done closely. I think you can develop from a distance – through books, articles, conversations, but I think it takes a close geographical proximity to nurture someone.
Once the nurturing has begun, it will continue. And develop comes in right behind it.