 Okay, the recording has started. Welcome everyone. Prince, why don't you pray and start? Then we will get started. Could you please pray with us? Yes, I see. Do you have any further thank you in this time lot? You've given us one more opportunity to learn. Just we submit in your hand lot and also help us to each of us that learn your word, whatever we learn, learning form, I mean, just planting it and help us to use in this whole thing in our ministry lot. Thank you. I also pray for all the students, those who are not till joint lot. I pray for them. Their connection, connectivity will be good and they will quickly join. I will begin the class lot. I submit all the things in your hand. Holy Spirit, guidance, leaders in this session. Just I pray. In Jesus' name, pray. Amen. Thank you. Okay, so we were talking about the personal preparation that we have to go through in the personal life of a church planter. And we covered certain areas we talked about, you know, recognizing your call to pioneer. We talked about the indicators of grace that we could look at. We said, you know, some we should avoid these wrong reasons doing a church plan. Then we spend some time talking about should you pioneer on your own or should you work with an existing Christian organization or ministry. And so we kind of went through the positives and what are some of the things we need to be careful about if we are going to work with an existing Christian organization. Those are useful things. And then we started talking about personal preparation. And how can you, how can we personally prepare ourselves to go and, you know, engage in church planting or starting something in an urban center, whether it's a local church or whether it's a Christian ministry. So just to quickly review, we talked about being spiritually strong. We need to personally maintain a consistent personal spiritual life. We talked about getting equipped through the word as we continue to be equipped to the word, you know, that is something we need to be able to do and maintain. We talked about being clear about our vision and, you know, being single-minded, having a clear vision and staying focused. We talked about our willingness to work hard that, you know, as leaders, you know, we definitely have to work twice as hard as others. You know, somebody whom God has called to pioneer, you have to be willing to, you know, put in that extra effort. We, of course, we pray, we plan, but we shouldn't be hasty in what we do. Let God build the house, let God, you know, give us increase in the way, in the manner, in the time that, you know, he sees fit. We must be emotionally strong. They're going to be, you know, one of the biggest challenges would be emotional. We must be courageous. We must not get discouraged, not dismayed. And then we also talked about keeping things in order in our personal life. We shouldn't let personal weaknesses become an entry point for the enemy. He, Satan, would use areas of weakness in our lives to come in and disrupt what the good work that is taking place. And so we have to strengthen ourselves, protect ourselves, protect our families, and so on. And finally, you know, we stopped here in point number eight, where we said we have to develop the ability to be strong. We need to be, you know, we need to be able to maintain the fire within ourselves, be motivated from within, so to speak, and to keep the fire burning. You know, we need to be able to do that. We belong, of course, we do have, we will have, you know, other people around us to encourage us and all of that. But at the same time, there is the certain degree of independence that we must have, that is that we need to be able to personally stir ourselves up, personally keep the fire burning. You know, and, and, and we need that grace and ability because as you're especially in the early days when you are pioneering or we are starting a ministry, it may not always be easy and you have to keep your own fire burning strong as you are moving forward. So we're going to start from point number nine. And I think we may be able to finish this section today. Let's see, but let's see how we go. Right. So what else can we do personally to prepare ourselves? Right. Another important aspect of personal preparation is learning to relate well with people. Right. So that, that means, you know, I really care, we must really care for the people that we have been sent to serve. Right. You know, if you look at this passage in 1st Thessalonians 2 verse 1 to 8, you can see in that passage are Paul's compassion, are his tender love for the people that Thessalonians, you know, he writes to them about how much he cared for them while he was ministering to them. So you don't get the feeling that, you know, okay, he went there just to, you know, get a job done or just do a project and then he can go back and, you know, tell people, hey, I finished the project or I had a meeting or I had a conference and so many people came. You don't get that feeling. He talks about, and I'm just looking at that passage in my Bible in 1st Thessalonians 2. He says, you know, like verse 7, he says like a nursing mother cherishing her own children. That's how he cared for the people. Verse 8, he says he was affectionately longing for the people. He says they became dear to us. Then he talks about how, you know, they labored and they worked while they were there to take care of their own needs and they behaved themselves blamelessly. So, you know, so you can see from verse 7 and 8, 1st Thessalonians 2, you know, how Paul cared for the people while he was ministering to them, right? So we need to have a genuine interest in people, genuine interest in helping them, not just, you know, doing ministry like a project work, you know, get it done, finished over, let's go. No. You care for them. You love them. You're working with them. You're building them up. You're strengthening them. You're giving them to their lives. Now you're being patient with them. You're encouraging them. So that's how we must work with people. And connected to that is, you know, number 10, which is while we learn to relate well with people, we must also learn how to manage relationships with people. So, you know, it's like the two sides to this. One is, you know, you love the people. You're putting yourself out for the people. And at the same time, you need to manage relationships with people so that you don't, you know, you don't bear yourself out in the process of serving people. You don't let people take advantage of you. You don't let people misuse the relationships. So you need to manage relationships well. So that's also important. The ability to say no, without feeling guilty, you know. For instance, if people, you know, if you need to go rest, and then people are, you know, demanding that, you know, you do this, you do that, it's okay at times to say, look, you know, I will come later. I will do that later. Right now, you know, maybe you need to go pray. Maybe you need to take time to study the word. And so you can say no to, you know, maybe doing house visits or doing things like that. And say, look, I will come later. You know, if it's not an emergency, you don't have to go right away. You can always do it later. So that balance of, you know, you love people. You care for them. You're serving them. And at the same time, you know, where to draw the line, where to say, look, I need to have this time to pray. I need to, you know, be doing certain other things, and therefore I cannot come and be with the people. That's very important. If we turn in our Bibles to Mark chapter 6, we can see an example even in the ministry of Jesus. Mark chapter 6, can somebody read verse 30 to 32? Mark 6. Mark chapter 6, verses 30 to 32. Can somebody read it? Kiran, can you read it? Mark 6, 30 to 32. So they departed to a desert place in the boat by themselves. Mark 6 was 30, 30 to 32. So you read the verse before that. In the Apostle gathered to Jesus and told him all things, both what they had done and what they had thought. And he said to them, come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile for there were many coming and going. And they did not even have time to eat. So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves. You see how in this particular incident, the disciples were so busy because there were so many people coming and going. Jesus told them, verse 31, come aside by yourselves and get some rest. And it's kind of interesting that Jesus told them to do that. Come aside and get some rest. And so they got into a boat and they did manage to get some rest and then the people were there again. So they had to again step out and minister. But the point is they needed to take some time out to rest. And people will always be there. Needs will always be there. The challenges that people are facing. And so therefore they need help. That's always going to be there. And so we need to know when we need to come apart and rest. And then we need to go back and serve, come apart, rest, go back. So we need to be able to manage that kind of relationship and that ability to do that is an important thing. The danger with many of us is that we get so drawn into serving people. We just keep giving, keep giving, keep giving and we don't take time to rest. We don't take time to withdraw and just spiritually renew ourselves, resting, praying, being in the Word. So to be able to manage relationships and to do that is an important skill and part of how we can prepare ourselves. Number 11, as part of your preparation or our preparation for going out and starting a work, some basic skills like managing time, money, being good in our communication, some technical skills that you may need like using your computer, internet, email, PowerPoint presentations, those kind of things in our good skills to have because in most cases you will need to use it. It becomes part of the ministry work that you need to be able to manage time, make appointments to go meet people or let people come and meet you, to manage money, to communicate well with people in different ways, emails or phone or in person. So all these, these, you know, what we call life skills, they are very important and we can take time to develop ourselves in that area. I just got a lot of other things that we can do to prepare is, you know, to develop the sensitivity to identify opportunities for Kingdom work. You know, you respond quickly and be proactive and responsive. So that is, when you see God opening a door, when you see some opportunity coming your way, you should be able to quickly recognize God is in it or God's not in it, right? If God is not in it, just stay away, but if God is in it, then, you know, sometimes you just have to respond very quickly. You need to do something. You may not always have the time, you know, to go and prepare and plan and organize. Sometimes you just have to respond quickly and address the need and step into the opportunity. So the ability to do that is key, is important. And of course, you know, the more we practice, the more we learn to recognize small things and serve people, then God can, you know, lead us into bigger things. Now, again, another aspect of where we can think about preparing ourselves is by having good relations, mentoring relationships. People, relationships with older people, older people who are more experienced in the ministry, who are more mature, who can speak into our lives when we need them, when we need some guidance, when we need some input. So to have those kind of people around you, to have those relationships is good, it's important. So that you can tap into that as and when you need and also being aligned and accountable to the church that is sending you is also an important thing to do. So what we did was, here's how you and I, you know, how we can prepare ourselves, personal preparation as we get ready to go and start a ministry, start a work. So some final thoughts here on, okay, while you are doing the ministry, while you're starting the church, starting the ministry, and you're making the journey, what are some things to keep in mind, and I'll just go through this very quickly, just as some general guidance, then next week we will talk about preparing for the future. And how do we, especially in the light of what that's happening, how do we prepare ourselves for the future. So when we, when, you know, in making the journey, at some point we have to step out and get started, get on the ground, get started. That means it's okay, I'm going to start a church, I'm going to start a ministry, I'm going to do it. You know, we can do all the preparation, like we said, you know, we can do the survey, we can do the praying, the planning, the preparation. And, but then finally, you just have to get out and start. So take action, you step out, get started, establish commitment to your call. That means, you know, like we said, when you start ministry, everything is very exciting, you know, the first few weeks, the first few months are very exciting. And then after that, you know, maybe things may not necessarily grow as fast as you think it is, you kind of hit that place where it's the routine, like you have to do this. It gets a little mundane in the sense that, you know, maybe it's the same people coming back to church week after week and you're not seeing any increase or any sudden growth. But that's when you have to be committed to what God has called you to do. Right, you need to establish commitment to the call. The God, you have given me this vision. You've sent me to this place. You want me to start this ministry. You want me to plant this church. I'm going to do it. I'm going to pay the price. I'm going to stick to this vision. I'm going to establish commitment. Right. So when you and I establish commitment to the people, to the place, now that is very powerful because then from then on, you will see the blessing begin to accelerate or the things begin to increase. So I'm not making this a rule, but usually, you know, at least the first two years is, you know, a time period that you'd say, you know, that's when you really need to establish commitment to your call and that you're there to get the work done, get the work started. Now, sometimes it may be that God may just want you to do that work for two years and hand it off to somebody else and move on. That's fine. But the point is, if you are there to, you know, to really see a work take place and if you're called there as a life assignment, then definitely you need to establish that commitment and then you will begin to see the fruit of that. Stay focused, avoid distractions. You know, people will call you to do this to do that. But it's so important for you to stay focused on what you went to do in that city. You know, if you're going to plant a church, don't get distracted and, you know, get into traveling ministry. No, stay focused. You can always travel later. If you've been called to, you know, be a minister of the word, don't get distracted into something different, like starting a sports ministry or something else. You know, stay focused on what God has called you to do, align to the gifts that he's given you. Okay. Be tenacious. You, within yourself, you say, I'm going to stay at this until God tells me my job is over here. Right. So you don't quit until God tells you to say, God tells, okay, you've done your job. So you stay at your post, be tenacious, be persistent. Don't quit. Okay. Sometimes you may be in a season where you're working a job as well as planting a church. Then that's when you need to be, you know, you need to be even more careful and managing your time. Because, you know, you're dividing your time between your job, your family, your personal spiritual growth and the ministry. So there's a lot of work and you need to be very careful. Right. So when we started all people's church the first 13, 14 years from 2001 to 2014. So I guess that's a little over 13 years. I was, I was, you know, bivocational. That means I was running a business and I was pastoring the church. And then after that I transitioned fully to do the ministry, the work, the church work. But that, that was real challenging time because you're, you know, divide your time, your efforts, your energies between both your work and ministry. It's doable. And if that's what God wants you to do, you do it for a season, then you could transition out. And while you're doing your work, keep asking questions, keep learning and keep, you know, improving. So, you know, stay alert and see how things are going and always keep improving, keep getting better in the things you do. And the best place to keep is by asking questions, you know, are we doing the best thing? Are we doing the right thing? Could we be doing this differently? Could we be, you know, reaching people in a different way? Is there something else we should be doing? So as you keep asking those kinds of questions, you will get new ideas and new direction. And you can adapt. You can adjust. You can improve what you are doing. Another thought that I would share when you are making the journey is to nurture and protect what God has, but then avoid wrong alliances. That means, you know, if you get involved in, with alliances or it could be individuals or organizations that distract you, take you off your course. It can really destroy what God wants to do. So be watchful, careful, protect what God has birthed. And don't get caught up in even these ideas or practices or theology that can be destructive, you know. So just be careful. This is what God has called me to do. This is what I must stay true to as you're making the journey to plant a church or start a ministry. Another important part is, you need to let others come and be a part of what God is doing, right? So although you may be the pioneer, you may be the person with a vision and you started. Remember, you're not the owner. God is the owner. You're a steward. And God will send other people to be part of the ministry. So make space, make room for others to be a part of what is happening. Take care of yourself. So by giving yourself time to rest, giving yourself time to, you know, stay strong, stay fresh. You're just going to be a blessing to other people. So don't be afraid to take, invest time and taking care of yourself physically, emotionally, spiritually, so on. Right? If you need to take a break, take a break. If you need to take a short vacation, take a short vacation. If you, you know, need time to rest, take time to rest. Whatever you need to do to take care for yourself, do it because when you take care of yourself, you're actually being a blessing to others because you're going to then be around to bless them. Plan for future generations. We've talked about this before that, you know, the work is going to go through stages and it'll come to a time when, you know, the next generation will have to step up. We'll need to take leadership and they need to take the work forward. So plan that way. Think that way. Prepare that way. Raise up people who can take the work over from you and, you know, who will be able to stay aligned, stay true to the vision and take things forward. And then at the right time, you can hand the work to them and, you know, do what God's called you do. You either just be there and be an encouragement or if God calls you to move on to start something else, you can do it. But your goal is to make sure that in the church planting work or in the ministry you're doing, you do it in such a way that the work can continue as long as possible. Continue to bless people. You don't want it to die out just because you had to move out or move on. Right. So you plan in such a way that the work can continue for coming generations. Right. So these are some thoughts from a personal perspective as far as church planting and or starting a ministry in an urban context, you know, sometimes God may send you to do something as a life assignment. That means this is what you're going to be doing the rest of your life. Sometimes God may send you to do this as a work for a certain season and you may move from place to place planting churches or starting ministries or so different people are called differently. But what I would say is, you know, for all of these things we can, you know, we can really prepare ourselves. And if we prepare ourselves well, we can do a good work and we can do it in such a way that whatever we start will continue for the future to bless generations to come. Okay. So with that we complete this section. And we have one last section left, which we will pick up next week, which has to do with preparing for the future. Right. So what I wanted to do was just share some thoughts on look, you know, what, what can we expect as we look up ahead, especially given where we are. We are transitioning out of a pandemic. I'm not saying, you know, everything is over yet, but slowly churches are opening up. People are beginning to come and attend in person and so on. So we run in that process of transitioning out of a pandemic and getting ready for the future. So what will the future look like? What would be some things? We should be prepared for. And how can we, I think the big question is how can we get back to, you know, how can we go back to pursuing the Great Commission of making disciples and evangelizing and winning souls and discipling people. A lot of that work was disrupted the last year and a half, almost two years. So now how do we just, you know, get all that back and what would it look like in the future? So that's kind of what we want to do for the next lectures next week. And with that, we will be done with this course. I'll just do a full review. Take it with us, go through everything once again, make sure your, our understanding is clear, and then be a more or less done. And I will also make sure and get the assignments out so that you'll have time to finish them by the end of the semester, which will be the 26th of November. So you'll have enough time to work on those assignments and submit them in. Okay. Any questions before we wrap up today's lecture? No questions. All right, let's pray, and then we will dismiss. Can I ask Siddharth, if you would like to pray with us and dismiss us, please? Sure, Pastor. Thank you for this day of giving us a lot. Congratulations on prayer as we start this day and as we continue our day, God, we just want to pray that we be with those who guide us and lead us a lot. And God, I pray that as we study, you know, that in college, it's just a plan there a lot, that I pray that we be with those who guide us. The vision and the plan and the purpose that you have for us, Lord. I hope us to grow more in you, God, and in your world. I pray that we be with those who guide us. In Jesus' name, we pray God. Amen. Amen. All right, I'll see you all tomorrow morning. God bless. Enjoy the rest of your day. Thank you. Bye now. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Bye now. Thank you, everybody.