Nurture and Help are the fifth and sixth stages of the 8 Phases of Pioneering, focusing on the post-conversion growth of a believer. Nurture is the gentle, maternal-like care used to establish foundational biblical truths, while Help is the strategic shepherding of new believers through the social and physical persecution that often follows a decision to follow Christ.
When God saves a sinner in an unreached community, the mission is not over—it has simply entered a new level of intensity. The goal is a fully formed disciple of Jesus who uses their gifts to build up the body. To get there, the missionary must transition from a “proclaimer” to a “guide,” coming alongside young believers with the same heart a mother has for her newborn baby.
Phase 5: Nurture – Discipling People to Follow Jesus
At To Every Tribe, we use the word “Nurture” instead of “Discipleship Program” because nurturing is relational, not programmatic. As the Apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, we are to be “gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children” (1 Thess. 2:7).
Nurturing involves grounding new believers in four foundational pillars:
- The Gospel: All God has done to bring reconciliation.
- The Church: All those called out to be His body.
- The Mission: All we do to advance His kingdom.
- The Scriptures: All He has revealed for life and godliness.
In oral cultures where people do not read, this nurturing happens through narrative approach (storytelling), ensuring that the Word of God remains the non-negotiable foundation regardless of the delivery system.
Phase 6: Help – Navigating the Cost of Following Jesus
For many in unreached groups, following Jesus creates more problems on earth than it solves. Conversion often leads to being at odds with family, losing jobs, or facing physical threats. Mark 13:9-13 warns that “brother will deliver brother over to death.”
The missionary’s role in the “Help” phase is to:
- Shoulder the Weight: Stand with the believer in their pain and loss, providing biblical wisdom for trials.
- Validate the Cost: Help the new convert realize that persecution is a promise, not a surprise, and that the glory of heaven outweighs any earthly loss.
- Explain Suffering: Shephard them through the difficult reality that we are invited into all of Christ’s mission—both the suffering and the glory (Colossians 1:24).
This is the “hard part” of missions. It requires the missionary to have a deep theology of suffering to prevent new believers from falling away when the initial excitement of faith meets the reality of tribal rejection.
The Goal: An Unshakable Foundation
When Nurture and Help are prioritized, the new believer develops a foundation that can support them as they eventually move into discovering their own gifts (Phase 7) and leading their own people. We do not just want “converts”; we want resilient disciples who endure to the end.
FAQs
Why not just use a standard discipleship book or curriculum?
Standard Western curricula often assume a certain level of literacy and a Western worldview. In pioneer settings, “Nurture” must be contextualized. You have to address their specific cultural idols and ancestral fears using the “Nursing Mother” approach rather than a classroom model.
What kind of “Help” is appropriate? Should missionaries give money to persecuted believers?
This is a delicate balance. While we stand with them, we must be careful not to create Dependency. The goal is to help them navigate the social cost biblically. Financial help is usually reserved for extreme crises, while the primary “help” is spiritual and relational support to keep them standing firm in their community.
Does Nurture ever end?
In one sense, no—we all grow forever. But in the 8 Phases, the Nurture phase reaches a milestone when the believer is “established” in the foundational truths and can begin feeding themselves from the Word and teaching others.
