 I haven't taken so long. OK, recording is on. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to BC 309, course on Urban Church Planting. This is our second lecture for this week. And I hope you can hear me fine, just using a different mic today. And if there's any problems, please just let me know on the chat. I say good morning to pray. I'm going to get started. May I request somebody to please pray with us, and then we will start. Can somebody just pray with the class? Right, Abraham, would you like to pray with me? Anybody else? As a place, can you hear me? Go ahead, go ahead. Yeah, we can hear you, go ahead. OK, please let's pray. Precious Father, we thank you this morning. Father, we are grateful for the opportunity of giving us to hear your word and to know more of you. Father, we commit today's meeting not to your hands. That by the time we are done today, Father, we will understand the principles of church planting, that not only are we going to have the skills to plant churches, but we are going to do that which places you. That which brings you glory, and that which brings you honor. Father, we thank you for our hearts and minds are open to receive your word, that everywhere that will come from our past will minister grace onto us, that the grace will be abundant for us to step out and do what is necessary and what is pleasing to you. We thank you in Jesus' name we have prayed. Amen. Amen, thank you. OK, welcome everybody. So before we move forward here, I hope you had some time to just think about practical things we were talking yesterday. Any questions or any thoughts that came up after the class that you want to ask before we get into the new thoughts today? Anybody has any questions? OK, let's go to where we paused yesterday. We pick up from there and move ahead. I'm just going to share the PDF with us. So talking about the practical aspects that go into pioneering a local church, yesterday we emphasized on the church planting quality, the importance of having a good team together. We talked about preparing from a distance, what can be done if you're away, if you're in a different location from the place that you want to plant the church, you can actually take some time to prepare from a distance. Then, of course, you relocate your good on site to get into the city or the region where you've got once you've plunked or pioneered the work. We talked a little bit about planning for the finances you could work for some time, and that's perfectly fine. You don't have to rule that out. You could be supported by your sending church. That's great. If that happens, you need to plan and prepare for your personal needs. Also, look at some of the legal regulatory matters. We started talking about surveying the city. Let's get a feeling of how the city is, what's going on in the city. We took a little bit of time yesterday to look at Paul, what he did at Philippine, and also what he did at Athens. These are good case studies, examples that we can learn from that Paul. In those days, they didn't have the tools. They didn't have all the resources that we have today. Basically, they had to go into the city and then try to understand what's going on. We led by God as they established and plunked churches city after city. It was very interesting for us to look at how Paul went about. He took time to understand the city. He went around Philippine, then he found out there was a great mythic happening by the riverside. He and his team, they go there and then they share about Jesus and God opens up the heart of Lydia and she welcomes them. At Athens, Paul is there alone. He just goes around the city. He goes to the synagogue. He goes to the marketplace. He's engaging in conversation. And then God opens a wonderful door for him to stand before the aerobics, the leaders. You can say the intellectual leaders of Athens and Paul speaks to them about Jesus. And he uses his observations as part of his communication. So we had a little bit of discussion on that yesterday. And then some people in the aerobics also come to Christ. So a good example is how we take time to survey the city, understand what's going on, God will give us ideas. The next thing of course we want to do is to select the long area. You see, a city is huge, typically, right? It's a vast area and there are possibly millions of people in the city. And so you need to think about where do you want to start the church, where do you want to plant the church or the Christian ministry that you're doing? Where do you want to do it? And these are just some pointers. Of course we have all of each one of us have to be led by God. But here are some practical things you can think about as you're praying. You want to identify the area in which you're going to do the church plant. And sometimes you may know, even before you come into the city, because if you're doing a survey of the city, you will know that, okay, here, this is the area where the people I want to reach are. And so that would be an easy way to locate where you're going to start the church. Sometimes God will direct you specifically to go to that place and start the work. And so from your launch area, of course, you're going to reach the whole city. You're not going to exclude anybody. People are always welcome and they can come to the work from anywhere. Or sometimes you may have multiple congregations. That's also fine. But then when you're thinking about the launch area, some of the things we want to think about is we want to be sensitive to what God is already doing in the city. So don't do something that would adversely affect other churches, pick an area that does not already have a church, it's like the one you're planting, right? So that means, for example, if you're a spiritual church, don't go right next to another spiritual church and then, you know, a bit in the same language and so on and so forth. That may cause confusion unnecessarily. So try to be in a place where, you know, there's not a similar church. There could be, example, a church in a different language. So maybe you're going to be ministering to people or speaking English. Maybe there's a local church or the churches who are ministering to people in different languages. Okay, that's perfectly fine. Yeah, because there's a difference and you're not going to overlap in the kinds of people you are serving. But, you know, try to be in a place where you're not interfering with the work that another church is already doing. Something we already mentioned earlier is, you know, try to establish good relations with pastors and leaders of churches and organizations that are already doing some work. Be friends with them. Of course, you can't be friends with everybody, but, you know, whoever you can go, let them know that you've come there not to compete with them or take away from what God has already been doing. So you kind of get rid of any fear of competition or cheap stealing and so on. You know, one of the things that we did from early on is that during, in our services, we make a simple statement like, you know, when we welcome new people and say, okay, has anybody with us for the first time? So some people might identify themselves. And we always, we've been doing this from the early days. We always say, if you are already part of a church in our city that teaches the Word of God, we encourage you to remain faithful to that. But if you're looking for your own church, then please come back, visit us and see if this is where God wants you to be planted. So that way of making it clear that people need to be faithful to their own, you know, local complications unless, you know, they're looking for a church, maybe they're new to the city, they're just going into the city or maybe they've had to relocate within the city. So they have to leave their, leave their local church to find another church or they have some valid reason and so on. But otherwise they're encouraging people to stay faithful. And so a simple thing like that, you know, is encouraging people to remain faithful to their own congregations. But also it kind of, when other pastors know that you're doing that, they also feel comfortable that, you know, you're not there to just take people away from other churches and so on. So, you know, the launch area is a place where you are close to your target audience. So you want to launch, you want to start off a work in a place where your target audience, the main people that you're trying to reach can find an accessible, they have easy access to it, right? So, example, if you are, you know, if your target audience is, you know, young, I say college students, this is example, you're starting a ministry that's going to serve mainly college students. Of course you want to be somewhere close to where these college students are available, you know. So they should know that you're there and they should have easy access. So if you go and start a church way, way far away where the college students cannot come, they're gonna have access, they can't drive there or they can't take transportation there, then, you know, you may have a genuine call, but you're positioned yourself in a very difficult place and that's difficult for the college students to access even you to reach them. So that's why they're selecting the launch area. We have to do it very carefully. Put yourself as close as possible to the people you're trying to reach. They should be accessible. Now, we know that in today's cities, you know, people have access to transportation, public transportation and so on and so forth. So many parts of the city are quite well connected, but think also about time, you know, how much time people will be spending coming and going, because that's part of their personal equation. They're thinking, you know, how much time will it take for me to go to my place, but I'm going to meet with others and fellowship with others. So, select your launch area. Kathleen, understand what's going on around your launch area. You know, how far are you from schools and colleges and other places of interest that you would be where you could evangelize, where you could meet new people, you know, so understand the area around it, because then you will begin to plan out your strategies based on that, okay? Number 10 is the preparation phase. So, chapter 10. So here, what you want to do is you want to prepare for the launch, that means before you start your, say your church services, you want to get yourself ready to do that. Now, there is no set time for how long this pre-launch period should be. Some people take three months, some people take six months, some people even take two years that I'm aware of. Now, that's okay. It's entirely up to you. But what I would encourage is start as soon as possible. I don't delay, because the longer you delay, you could get distracted, you can become discouraged, you could, you know, give up on the vision entirely. So keep this preparation phase meaningful, purposeful, and only for as long as it really is helping you prepare to launch. So what would you do during the preparation phase? So you, the core team, you know, the core team needs to meet regularly. You're getting together for times of prayer, times of worship. You're getting, you know, you're getting yourself organized. You're also becoming familiar with the city. So that's what happens during the pre-launch phase. That's the team is spending time understanding and also beginning spiritually in prayer and, you know, becoming strong together, praying for the people, praying for people around in the launch area where you're going to start. So that's what you're doing. And you may engage in one-on-one evangelism. That means you haven't launched yet, but people are beginning to know that you're there because you're meeting with them and talking to them. And so you're getting together a few people to join with you in your pre-launch meeting. So it may be a prayer meeting inside a house or a worship service in somebody's house. So that's your pre-launch meeting. You haven't launched out in your Sunday service officially yet. But in your pre-launch meeting, you might be inviting some people that you're connecting with getting them to come. You're also spending a lot of time in worship, prayer and intercession doing stuff. So you're doing the spiritual side of the church plot. You're beginning to pray over that freedom that part of the city. You're beginning to pray maybe for individuals, individual families that you've started to meet. So you're engaging mainly in worship, prayer and intercession during the pre-launch session. You're getting yourself ready to get started. Part of this, like I mentioned earlier, if you know your primary target audience, it means you are, as a church, you're going to focus on these kinds of people. So for example, at ABC, our focus is English-speaking professionals. So that's kind of where we are focused on. So our services are in English. We are ministering to an urban crowd and we are ministering to urban professionals, which could be young professionals as well as young married professionals. But then everybody else is also welcome. So of course there are children, there are youth, and there are older people as well. But the core, that's the main target audience. So a lot of what you do will be in that direction towards them. That's your primary target audience. So you understand your target audience, understand their needs during your pre-launch phase. You're observing them in the city and saying, hey, these are the main needs here. You're connecting with them. For example, when you look at Jesus, he sent us 12 disciples during his earthly ministry. He said, you know, you focus on the Jewish people. Why did he tell them to do that? There was a purpose of God in it. He started that when he came in his earthly ministry, he was focused on the lost sheep of the house of Israel. That was the focus. After that, the gospel would then go to the ends of the earth. But during that three or three and a half year period, he was focused on the lost sheep of the house of Israel. You also find, for example, Paul, the apostle, he was called to the Gentiles. Whereas Peter was called to the Jews. So again, you see a focus in what they're called to do. That doesn't mean Paul never ministered to the Jews. Peter never ministered to the Gentiles. Of course they did. But God's primary assignment was towards those kinds of people. So God would give you certain primary people to target, understand that that's the people you would be able to relate to very easily. But of course, everybody else is welcome. God will use you beyond that as well. Another thing you're doing in this preparation phase during your pre-launch phase is identifying people and God is already prepared. So as you're taking time to get to know the city, you'll find that God is connecting you with certain people in the city. And we see this also in Matthew 10 when Jesus sent out his 12 apostles, 12 disciples. He said, individual city you enter, find out who is worthy. That means who welcomes you in and then let your peace come upon that house. That means there are certain people who feel like God has prepared the house. Say, please come in, tell us more and they're very open to you. So you connect with them, let your peace come upon them. But if there are people who reject you, okay, just move on. So go where you're welcome. We saw the example of Lydia and the prayer group in Philippi. God had opened her heart. And so Paul knew that this was a way for them to minister in Philippi. But he also needed to suddenly avoid people with their own motives and intentions. Sometimes people may come alongside, they may pretend they're for you, but their motive or their intent is something else. Maybe they want money or some other motivation. So be careful of that. Avoid those kinds of people. Identify your launch location, which we mentioned. They are going to start your services. So maybe it's a commercial space that you're able to rent. Maybe it's a school home. You're able to rent or maybe a seminar hall somewhere. Maybe it's a banquet hall in the hotel where that location they're going to start. And just make sure some basic things. It's easily accessible. It's clean. There's enough parking. If you need it, you can start in our home and then later move to our hall. And that's how we did it. We started off in our home, the living room of our home. And then we moved out. If you're going to rent a place, make sure that you tell them, look, this is going to be used for a church, put a proper rental agreement in place, and make sure that you're not going to be a problem to neighbors. So wherever you go, because it's going to be worship, it's going to be music, it shouldn't be a problem to neighbors. So these are just some basic things you would think about, about your long, long location. I just want to share a few thoughts here from Tim Keller, five principles for mentioning a church in an urban context. He was the former senior pastor for church in New York. He says this as it puts it very nicely, we need to live in the community, learn the community, link your ministry to the community. You need to love the community, and you need to launch in the community. And I think that this really captures essentially what you do in that pre-launch phase. You're in the community, you're learning about them, you're trying to connect with them, you're loving on them, and then you're going to be able to launch in their midst, and they will begin to come. So some other things, just a couple of more thoughts, and we'll take some time for discussion, is while you are thinking of your primary location, identify other areas where your ministry can expect in that city. So where can you do evangelism? Where should you go out if you want to reach new people? Where can you disciple people? If people want to spend time with people one-on-one, you can see at a coffee shop, restaurants, or you can invite them home. What are special needs that you might be called to address? For example, there could be direction or counseling or jobs, and you can connect with people, you can meet special needs. Some of the things that I noticed in our city, in Bangalore, is when there are a lot of people coming into the city looking for jobs, and so if you can have something to help them find jobs, it shows that that becomes a point of interaction with them. So they come looking for jobs, you're there to help them, and then in the process, of course, you're going to help them find a job, do whatever you can, but in the process they also become familiar with the church community. They say, hey, here's a people who are willing to help, and so on. So there's a need, which is people are moving into the city for jobs, but then the community is there to help them, but it also exposes them to the community of believers, and they can be brought in. So like that, there could be special needs in the city that you identify, and look at ways by which you can address those needs, and they become points of ministry and reaching people. Another thought here is, if you don't want to do it the traditional way, which is having a church service, you can even think about a house church model. That means just stay in the homes of people and do house churches. That's another option if you want to do that. Either way is fine. You have to follow what God wants you to do. There are advantages of having a common gathering, a large gathering, because then a fellowship can happen, and there can be a sharing of a lot of resources and so on. A house church model, of course, it's more closed-knits, but then you will need many leaders. You have to keep everything in order and have house churches, many house churches. The way you want to do it, you have to do what the Lord needs you to do, but I just put it in here so that you know that this is also an option. It doesn't always have to be a big church hall or city. I'm going to pause here to see if there are any questions. Everybody is with me. Any questions here? So far? Everyone's okay? All right. So what we talked about is the preparation phase, so the pre-launch phase. So these are some things you can do. I know of some churches where the pre-launch phase itself was two years. So the team went into the city and then they spent two years just in worship and prayer and connecting with people before they actually started off their official Sunday services. For two years, the team was there just getting to know the city, know the people, just spending time in worship and prayer and so on. So some people do it like that and I wouldn't say it has to be two years of preparation or pre-launch. Sometimes it could just be one month. So go in there. You know exactly where you're going to start. You get everything ready and you get started. I would encourage an early start so that you don't waste too much time or you could get distracted. So go in there, get settled, understand the community, understand the people. Find the area where you want to start. You know your target audience. Get a good place that is accessible. Of course you're going to spend time in prayer, intercession, worship and then get the work started. So how do you get the work started? What do you do? How do you launch? So that's the next chapter. So what do you do? The launch. So you launch only once. Hopefully you don't have to relaunch. But there are many ways you can go about launching a church plan. You could do a simple, quiet thing. Just open up the place and say, you know, the people you've invited you to say, come on, they're just moving here. So you just basically moving from the house to a hall. So it could be a simple and a quiet launch of the church plan. Or you could have something big and you could have a special event that is well-promoted. It's highly visible. Maybe you do a music concert. Maybe do a gospel meeting, a healing service. Something big that attracts crowds and attracts people. So some people may do it that way. Some people may just do a quiet church launch. Church plan to launch. Either day is fine. You could have a series of special meetings. So you could say, okay, for the next three to five days, we're having special meetings. So your launch itself starts off with a series of meetings. There could be many, many other ways to launch. Your first church service, you know, keep it very simple. So people are coming in, you know, they want to get a feel of what is the service all about. So your first church service at the time, you can set expectations. What can people expect if they are coming here? Share your vision. What is this church all about? Keep everything focused on Jesus. I remember in our very first church service, when we started our people's church, our vision is to maintain the same vision state. You know, to be sultan like in our city. To be a voice to the nation and to the nations. So in the very first service, there were just about 12 people, basically our own family and a couple of friends. To them, I said, no, our vision is to be sultan like in our city, be a voice to our nation and to the nation. So from the very beginning, the vision was we are going to impact our nation. We are going to impact the nations. So we started off like that. The vision was very clear that our goal is beyond just ourselves. We even talked about the ministries we would like to start and so on. So your first church service, you are bringing out a vision. People should feel like they can be part of this journey and they can grow. They can grow spiritually. They can also be connected to what is going to come. So that first church service is very important. You should think about it and do it carefully. A very important is that you should have a plan for follow-up. That means when people come, you know, at the very basic level, they should feel welcomed. You welcome them in and you interact with them. And, you know, in a very non-threatening way, you take the name and number or contact information so that you can call them back and reach out to them and invite them back if they are interested, of course. See if they have any specific needs and connect them to a small group where they can meet with other people. So there has got to be this follow-up plan and that follow-up plan should be happening every service. So whenever new people come, you try to get their information. And then you follow them and you invite them back. Now, some people may come out of curiosity. They don't have an intent to keep coming back. So that's okay. That's fine. They just wanted to see what's happening. But there are some people looking for a church. Or they're looking for what you are going to do. So you need to be able to connect back to them, welcome them back and, you know, connect them to what you're doing. So this follow-up plan must be very important. Otherwise, you're putting all the effort into launching. You're inviting people, but then you don't know how to follow up with them. You don't know how to invite them back if you don't have their contact information. But do that in a very nice way. They shouldn't feel threatened or they shouldn't feel that all you want is their contact information. So do it in a very nice way and in a way that they are comfortable and they can feel welcome and reach out to them. Okay. So any questions here so far? Everyone's with me? Okay. Just simple things. So, okay. So let's get into the next chapter, which is strategies for, I'll just introduce this chapter but you can continue it next week. Strategies for urban evangelism. So now that you've launched and got started, we need to think of ways by which we can continue to reach out into the city, to the communities around us. So we need strategies. You need to think about ways. You need to think of ways to reach out to people. So, and I think there must be strategies. There's got to be some, of course, some guiding principles. We want to keep our methods wholesale. That means it's got to be spirit lens. The Holy Spirit's got to lead us. But we also want to be legal and ethical. That means don't do something that's illegal or unethical. Don't do something in French, into spaces that you're not supposed to be going. So, keep our whole approach. People should not look at the way we're evangelizing and point fingers at us and say, look, we are doing something wrong. So keep this in mind. Be spirit-like, be legal, be ethical. We need to step in to people's world. That means we need to go where they are. How can we enter them? How can we go before them and give them an invitation or even let them know that what we are offering to them? So we need to think of those ways. How can we go before people? Also, when we're thinking about strategies for evangelism, we need to be culturally sensitive and culturally relevant. That means work within the cultural context. So what may work in one place may not be necessarily suitable for a different place. So think about the culture, the way people understand what you're doing. Because some actions could be misinterpreted incorrectly or wrongly. So being sensitive to that culture, especially if you're working cross-culturally, if you're coming in from a different culture, be sensitive to the way people would relate. So keep these things in mind as we are thinking about strategies. So we're going to read one passage of scripture and then we'll just discuss a question that we will wrap up for today. Let's turn in our bibles, please, to 1 Corinthians 9. And we will read about what the apostle Paul says about how he went about his apostolic ministry or when he went about planting churches and overseeing these churches and serving the people. What was behind that? He shares that with us at 1 Corinthians 9, 16 to 23. Could one of us, could somebody read that up for us? Okay, thank you. So let's look at what the apostle Paul is saying here about how he was preaching the gospel. What's 19? He says, though I am free, I made myself a servant to all. So that was his situation. He's free, but he's choosing, he's choosing what's 19 to move into a different status, so to speak, in order to bring the gospel to people. And then he says, to the Jews, I became like a Jew to those under the law, as under the law. Verse 21, those who were outside the law, I became as outside the law, but not without the law of God. Verse 22, the week I became like a week, end of verse 22, I have become all thanks to all men that are made by all means, saved some. What Paul is essentially saying is, he got into people's worlds, right? Verse 22, he became like that. To the week, he became like that. To those outside the law, he became like that. He got into their words that he could connect with them. So part of our strategy is how do we enter into people's worlds? That means where they are, where they are spending time, where they are living life, and where they are thinking through things. How can we get in there so that we can bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to them? So that's what we need to do, like find out strategies, find out ways by which we can step into other people's worlds. So I just wanted to, you know, I wanted to just think about what could keep us from entering into people's worlds. So suppose you're in a city, you know, imagine you're in a city like Bangalore, and you're starting a ministry of church in a particular area, and then you see that, hey, around me there are certain kinds of people. So example, example. But suppose there is, and I'm talking about an urban context, suppose there are young people who are into drugs, who have just messed up their lives basically, you know, and they're all in their early 20s, and dropped out of their education, or in some way, they're not really, and then they're into drugs and so on. Now here you are, this young pastor, you know, you want to be this holy vessel unto God. How can you step into their world to reach them? Or another question we could ask is, what would keep us from entering into their worlds to reach them at the gospel? Just want to hear your thoughts. So the two questions, what would keep us from entering into their worlds and to how can we enter into their world? What are some strategies to get into their world? So if you're starting a church, right around there's a whole community of young people who are into drugs and doing all those kinds of things, you know, I don't know if you understand these terms like, but they would say they're skinheads, they're dead heads, they've got all kinds of things going on. How can you step into their world? What would you say? What are some thoughts? How would we reach them? Pastor, can I say? Go ahead. Just like what we read in the passage where Paul is saying, you know, though I'm free, yet I made myself a servant and he said to the Jews, I became as a Jew to those without law as without law. So what he means is he's identifying with them. So he's moving into them, keeping himself free. He is not feeling bound, but that he is becoming a part of them rooted in his identity in Christ in order to be touching these lives. We cannot just, you know, keep ourselves separate from them completely thinking that we are not part of them. You know, not the people who can impact us negatively or something, but knowing ourselves, who we are in Christ and being rooted in the word and truth of God, we can touch these lives impact fully for a time. If we need to befriend them, if we want to be part of them, spending time with them, organizing some kind of personal meetings with them, what we've learned in lifestyle evangelism in our first year, like we can call them for a coffee, have a word with them or, you know, be in touch with them on phone calls and find out what's going in their lives and try to start a conversation, find out how we can be impacting them by the word that God has given in the power of the gospel that God has given us. So that is what came to my mind. Thank you so much. Thank you. So, you know, we need to be able to step in to this one. So, you know, around you, there's a community. So I remember when I was living in Cleveland, Ohio, I was a student there for some time and right where I was living, there was an area called Coventry and there was a big cafe there and I would say basically that whole area was full of these kinds of people. They were all wearing these black jackets. They would have all these chains hanging. They would be pierced in so many places, all these things here. Most of them had their, you know, head shaven and all these piercings, tattoos everywhere, always wearing black all the time. And then that place was filled with these people and a lot of them were all onto drugs and so on and so forth. You know, so it's a real thing. You know, you're seeing this whole community of young people whose lives are like this. Now, how do we reach them? So we need to be able to, like you know, we need to go in there and be their friends and I see these comments in the chat, you know, we don't go there to condemn them. You know, first of all, us stepping into their world is a very awkward thing because we're not like them. We don't dress like them. We don't have piercings. We don't have tattoos. We don't wear black jackets and black clothes and, you know, doing drugs and so on. So it's very, you know, we're immediately out of place the moment we step in. You know, it's like we're coming from a different culture, you know. So that itself is a sub-culture in the city. But then we go in there, non-judgmental, non-condemning, just to be different, just to love them, you know, that's so important. And then to talk with them, to have conversation, right? Just to get to know them, get to befriend them. Of course, the thought process is why is this person coming into our sub-culture? You know, why is this person coming here, you know, and so on. So it has to be, it's going to take time, but we should have the courage to enter into their world without condemning them, loving them. And then, of course, at the right time, you know, sharing about, sharing the gospel of Christ. And I see the other comments here from Asha. It's our selfish nature that prevents us from getting into, you know, but for us to get into that sub-culture can be unnerving. It could be uncomfortable for us, you know, but then that's something we have to do if you're going to reach that group of people. And I see as I have the attitude of Christ, work and compassion, you know. So that's very important. But we need to have the courage to step in. And then, of course, when you're working with them, there are a lot of other things that begin to take place, meaning, you know, we've got to be able to have conversations with them, we've got to understand the struggles and be patient with them, continue to minister to them. But that itself is, you know, it's a big, big area of work. I'm just giving one example. So like that, we should be willing to step into people's worlds as we recognize who they are and what is the main thing on their minds and then try to minister to them. So next week, we will continue talking about these strategies. But the key thing is this, the key thing in our strategy is how do we enter into people's worlds and meaningfully connect and meaningfully engage with them so that we can then share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Okay, so we will talk about some practical things, how we go about doing that next week. All right, so let's wrap up today. Let's pray that we will dismiss. I think about these things, try to put them into action if you can, if you're already plotting a pioneering of work, wherever you are. Okay, any questions before you wrap up? Okay, let's pray. Can I request somebody to pray that we will dismiss, please? Can I pray, Pastor? Please go ahead. Father, in the name of Jesus, we want to give you glory, praise and adoration for these moments. We thank you for all the lessons that we have been taught through Pastor Ashes. We pray that you grant us the grace, we grant us the strength, grant us the oil to be able to impact and make, establish our ministries wherever we are. We pray that you cause us to adopt the various strategies that we need to expand our ministries in our various nations. We continue to pray that you grant Pastor Ashes the grace and the strength to be able to impact us for the ministries in Jesus' mighty name. Amen. Thank you, everyone. Enjoy the rest of your day. I'll see you all.