 Okay, welcome back. We started off on our session on the Code of Ethics, Ethics and Boundaries in Christian Counseling. We quickly looked at what professional ethics mean. We started looking at certain principles. We've moved a couple of principles up until now which we will review back once again. We just completed with confidentiality in Christian Counseling. We move on to the next principle of cultural regard in Christian Counseling. So, you know, as counselors, we are going to have at some point of time different cultural, ethnic, racial, those who are racial diversity that is being represented to those who may come to minister to you. And these are important considerations while you are being in a place of counseling or any kind of counseling-related services. So, this cultural competency really signifies one is to have at least some level of knowledge and awareness about the values, the norms, the traditions of other cultures, of other people who are being represented there. Because that in itself, these kind of values, norms, traditions can influence our perceptions, it can influence their thoughts, attitudes, their beliefs, their communication, the way they relate to one another, certain behaviors, these life experiences, their customs, their spirituality, all of this. So, remember that culture also does play a huge role in the way a person is shaped. Now, as a Christian Counselor, we recognize and acknowledge that every person is created in the image of a holy god. And therefore, all counselors do have the right to be valued and respected and to receive that ethical care to be treated with the utmost dignity. So, especially when you are, when you're working with people of different faiths and religions or values, we do the best to, we work in a way to understand that belief system. Yet, and as we're doing that, we're also maintaining that respect for the Counselor and strive to understand when faith and value issues are important to the Counselor. So, when we look at this specific principle, we also do mention that we take care not to withhold services to anyone who are of a different faith or a religion or a group. And this code of ethics actually values the Counselor's decision making in Counseling. So, the Counselor's, you may as a Counselor share your own faith orientation. And that is only as a function of a legitimate disclosure, self-disclosure and wherever it is appropriate for the Counselor, for the Counselor. And you always maintain that posture of humility. So, we need to be aware of cultural issues when you are helping a Counselor. And remember that as a, you know, and I think it's common sometimes to not sense a form of understanding when you meet with a Counselor from a different cultural background. But as a, and that's why it's, if there is a struggle with that, you make those referrals outside. So, in my practice, I have seen that people do reach out, you know, from other, maybe countries or other cultures. And I do mention to them that my exposure to that culture is limited. And maybe the, all the exposure that I have is through some form of reading or even some form of interaction with the Counselor, that's as much as the information that I have. So, being able to express that and be integral about it, yet also being careful and humble and open to know that there may be a lot of cultural practices that's different against your own culture. So, just being cognizant about that. So, what is it we need to do, I guess, as a Counselor is to have that knowledge, to build your awareness about the person who you're meeting. And I think it's a good practice to maybe go back and read about the culture, because it really impacts the way that you relate to them, you understand them and the kind of worldview that they may have, okay, so that there is sensitivity as well as a sense of dignity as you are reaching out to them. Yeah, so I think we already spoke about this is that, yeah, not so for those who share their own, Counselors who share their own faith orientation should be only as a function of self-disclosure or where the need is met and you don't impose your values, because when you as a Counselor, as a Christian Counselor, you may expose the Counselor to your faith orientation, but you've got to be careful not to impose your practices on the Counselor. The last one is case management in Christian Counseling or it's basically called of how you would discuss and keep a comprehensive understanding of people who come to you. Now, Counselors work to understand the Counselor's belief system and you maintain that respect for the Counselor and strive to understand whatever is important for them. So what you are also doing through this is when you're looking at their treatment plan or what are the interventions or the goals that need to be used, there are certain principles you've got to consider. The first principle is it is based on one, the Counselor's problem or the issue. The second is that you would like to promote a sense of ownership on the Counselor. The Counselor takes ownership about their condition or their situation. The third is you incorporate any, maybe they have gone through some assessments or some other kind of counseling work, you kind of incorporate this understanding alongside with your or the way that you manage them. It is based on the strengths of the Counselor. You identify clear goals with clear objectives. You're ensuring that whenever possible, these goals are attainable and they are measurable and you're also being sensitive to other factors that have factors that impinge some kind of a pressure on the Counselor and you're also providing a review and adjustment as needed. So what are you doing over here is you are not just dealing with the person as a spiritual being or a physical being or intellectual being or a volitional being. You're considering them as a whole person. So it's biologically, psychologically, spiritually, cognitively, culturally, relationally and it requires a coordination of other services that is in the best interest of the Counselor. So you're not just looking at them as emotional beings and dealing with them like that or as a spiritual being. And this is very much in line with what we spoke about. Remember, when you were looking at the personality, the human personality, we said, we look at the person as a whole and don't break them up into 10 chunks and just say, okay, only this concerns me, the rest of it doesn't bother me. And that's what we mean by case management, that you are giving them the thorough care of the whole person. You're considering the whole person. It is a comprehensive and thorough plan. That's what we mean by case management. You're managing and saying, okay, what does this person need in this level? What does this person need in this realm? What does this person need in this situation? And that's how you work alongside with them. Next and the last one is the community presence in Christian counseling, which we know as Christian counselors, we play a larger role in communities as well as the society in general. So as a Christian counselor, you know, we need to be mindful to present ourselves at all times as the salt and light or as the ambassadors of God. Because when we do so, we're conducting ourselves as well as others with the utmost dignity and humility, avoiding any practice or behavior that can bring dishonour to God, dishonour to ourselves or to the body of Christ. So we, as we do this, we pray that God gives us the grace to adopt this code even professionally, the strength to live honourably and to see it as a foundation of our identity, that wherever we are, we represent Christ and we are called to be the salt and the light. We're called to be the ambassadors of the Lord Jesus. Okay, so there we completed our seven principles and just to quickly once again run through that so that we have a quick recap of what we did is, so the first one is compassion in Christian counseling, then its competence, how we excel, consent, how we offer our services with absolute integrity. Fourth is confidentiality where we are called to be trustworthy, having cultural regard that is showing dignity to all kinds of people of all race, of all culture, of beliefs. Collegiality, that is where we build good relations with other co-members or co-professionals or co-supporters in our helping profession and lastly having a community presence. So that closes with our ethics and I'd like to also bring about certain boundaries that we need to be careful and to be aware of and this is something that gives again us a framework to find out what is safe that makes our relationship with our counseling safe as well as what are some of the limits for the services that we deliver. Okay, so boundaries is something that indicates a border or a limit like you know in India we have every house has a boundary, excuse me, every house has a boundary wall and that indicates that whatever happens in that is yours. Okay, so similarly the professional, there is a professional boundary which we ensure to first of all for a councillor to be cognizant about that boundary as well as councillors to be cognizant as well. Okay, so they are the guidelines that are based on the principles of the councillor, the practice of those code of ethics that we spoke about. Okay, so we'll just go in detail of this. Now what is the concept of these boundaries? It gives a framework and of our identity and what remains constant over a particular period of time. You need to have a specific identity, what is it that, what kind of a calling is that on you, what are you identified as? Okay, like you know even like for example when you see people who are doing businesses often there will be a certain adjective that people use, okay there you know he's a corrupt businessman or he's a honest business guy, very integral man right. So it gives you a sense of personal identity which you keep constant over time. Okay and this identity is constant regardless of any external issues or pressures or any kind of emotional ups and downs the councillor may be feeling. Okay, these boundaries is like a contract that is there within the councillor and the councillor relationship and also these boundaries help the councillor to draw a line between what is myself, what is the self of the councillor and what is the self of the councillor and to ensure that there is no merging that takes place. Okay and yeah I will explain this a little bit in further. So why is it important that we talk about these boundaries? It's one, we have the ability to better recognize boundary issues as they arise. If we don't have those boundary lines, if anything crosses that, we don't even recognize that those boundary lines have been crossed. Okay, so these boundaries are important so that we have a framework, have a limit to what are things. It also clarifies expectations, so like the confidentiality or the consent, it clarifies that expectations. It also gives a clear idea of where your own boundaries are. As a councillor you have a certain framework of what is acceptable, what is not acceptable. A boundaries are important because you need to have a plan of action if boundaries are in danger of becoming unprofessional or unsafe or it's in danger of moving out from that which is unprofessional. Like for example, councillors who meet with councillors from the opposite gender, there is a boundary and the code of ethics is you do not form personal, not code of ethics, the boundary is that you do not form a personal relationship with your own councillor because that becomes a conflict in itself. So you have a plan of action if any of those boundaries are in danger of being violated at all. It also reduces the risk of a councillor exploitation. That is in some cases where the councillor himself or herself has a problem and is looking at exploiting people and a councillor becomes like an easy prey. But with boundaries you reduce that risk. You reduce councillor anxieties as the roles and rules are very clear. You let them know what is expected, what is going to take place, how the sessions are going to go forward, where is the meeting going to be held. A lot of times people don't even know what counselling is about. There are times that councillors call councillors home and say, why don't you come home and help me. So if you don't have those boundaries, there can be significant trouble that comes about. This also, boundaries are important because it helps in the well-being of the councillor. You have certain rules and principles that you follow that you can very clearly say, this is outside of that and I would not adhere to it. Like the example that I bought to you about is calling councillors home. And also it provides a role model for councillors where there are certain boundaries that you maintain. Like for example, if you're working in an organisation and the councillor would like to gift you something personally or maybe gift you money. As a councillor, you're providing a role model by placing those boundaries that any kind of remuneration that comes in will go into the organisation and not to you personally. So there itself, you are creating some of those boundaries. So who negotiates these boundaries? It's the duty of the councillor to negotiate and because it's the councillor who acts in the best interest of the councillor. So the councillor is ultimately responsible for managing those boundary lines and for ensuring that they stay clear. And when you clearly bring up some of those, there's a clear understanding of ethics and boundaries that you as a person are going to be holding up. What are certain clear boundary areas that you need to look into is ensuring that there are in social activities that are planned with councillors. Now I will come, a slide will come where we're talking about pastoral or church related counselling that sometimes doesn't happen because you belong to the same community and that can of course be an issue. So let's say if there is someone who you relate very well personally to, ethically you shouldn't be taking them as someone to help because there's also again an emotional involvement that is there. So yet you know there is a fine line on that maybe in those councillors who belong to a church may not be able to completely adhere to this one but what a councillor can do is like for example, I know many people within the body of the church and I know how I relate to a lot of them. So if there are people who come in and say you know I want to be counselled by you when they're actually a friend, I do refuse and say you know it doesn't happen that way because there are a lot more of considerations when we are looking at a councillor-councillor relationship. A clear boundary area is having sex with councillors or having any kind of an intimate relationship with councillors is definitely a violation and it is against the ethics. Family members or friends being as councillors is again a boundary that you it's important that one maintains. A councillor should not be your lover, your relative, an employee, an employer, an instructor, a business partner or a friend. Anyone apart from that is okay. Where are some of the areas where boundaries may blur? So like we said a lot of these boundary issues may not be completely clear-cut. It's not something that is well defined and these are these can be potential areas where one needs to pay a little bit more of attention to. One is in self-disclosure. How much of disclosure does a councillor have with the councillor? Okay being careful as to how much one one gives about personal information or personal related lessons that one one brings about. So that's why it has to be done in absolute discretion. Giving or receiving significant gifts now when we mean by significant gifts expensive ones. I mean councillors do come in with box of sweets or a card or you know a pen and all of that and you know you you've got to be you need to really look to see whether it is it's okay or you know if you're working within an organization it's always better to have them leave those gifts if they insist to have it that you have it at the with the organization rather than with you. Or dual or overlapping relationships where you hold the role of a councillor as well as another relationship. These are where there are blurring of boundaries. Becoming friends when councillor and councillors become friends then the relationship in itself the counselling relationship is becomes harder you know the the influence the impact of a councillor becomes definitely becomes lesser and of course where there is physical contact I mean in the sense of a physical proximity. If there is an over identification with the councillor's issues from the counsellor's side that these are the danger zones what happens if there is and they clearly feel more involved in the counselling than what is required which is also what we call as transference. Okay there is a significant sense of identification and need to to be there's there's an overly need for help overly need to help rather okay from the councillor to the councillor. Or if there's a strong attraction to the councillor's personality the councillor feels attracted to the personality again that that also is part like counter transference is there spending more time with the councillor outside of work or a work area that becomes again a danger zone sharing too many intimate personal information with the counselling also you know talking a lot about personal information and personal material or details can again be difficult. Okay all right I'm just going to stop here for a couple of minutes just to see if there are any questions I can address before. Yes Sandu please go ahead. First I understand you know but I've been trying to figure out why is it difficult to council someone who is a friend or a relative. Yeah why does it become so difficult that's something that I'm trying to understand thank you much. Because of the involvement you would have one is when when when there is a friend or a relative that there's probably no objectivity that is come that comes about. Secondly there is an emotional involvement there is a sense of concern more than empathy it becomes that is more of an like I said an emotional attachment with with the with the individual and if you remember the principle is that we spoke about it talks about a client controlled sorry if I have a lapse of memory it's called just give me a minute I'm just going to quickly pick that up because I've lost my head in the way. Um principle of controlled emotional involvement yes okay so if you remember that that's the place where you where you listen purposefully to the counsellor's feelings okay and involve yourself but having a controlled form of involvement with the with the counsellor and that's why that becomes an issue because your objectivity is lost as you are helping them to think through maybe even suggestions that you make is probably coming from your known assessment of the situation because there are other people you know in that in that situation maybe let's say a friend is coming to you you know his spouse you know the children you know thing and so looking at it in the way that from from your perspective you feel that is ABCD things that need to be done so there is no objectivity gets lost while you are dealing with someone who is more like a friend or a relative so and it could also put the counsellor at a difficult position of not wanting to really share or open up situations I've had a lot of people not wanting to see me because not because I know them completely maybe you know there are people who are acquainted in church but they don't want to see me because they sense a discomfort as to what would one they fear confidentiality and they would they would also fear judgment although you know even though as a counsellor you may be keeping those perspectives but as a counsellor this really matters you know just the understanding of who am I going to see how much of what I'm going to say is going to leak out and those are genuine fears so that is why it is it is recommended that one does not a counsellor doesn't meet doesn't help their own friends or family. Christopher I think you have a question. Yes, can you hear me? Yes, I can. Yeah, so I think this could be a really good question but maybe we are extending a little bit more in detail. This is really about the role of the primary caregiver who is living with a counselling and trying to help in supporting the counselling and also in a sense working along with the counsellor so I'm not sure if you touched on this earlier but I think sometimes that that that dynamic is is not really you know touched upon that much not just not the role itself but I mean you know how best the primary caregiver can help in the situation and how the primary caregiver can also not make situations worse because there is a there is an essential need for having this primary caregiver because it's usually your close member of the family who lives with the the counselling and depending on the you know on the complexity and the cuteness of the other problems that the counselling is facing and we can be caregiver if there is an important role and it's also you know somewhat who is constantly contacting the counselling. So I just wanted to get so so Christopher I didn't follow what your question was I followed the scenario so what is what is the what tends to be the relationship when it comes or how does the counsellor manage the complexity of a counselling and its caregiver is that what you're saying. No I mean my question is more about you know how what would be some of the you know do's and do nots of you know of primary caregiver in this in this relationship because you know the counsellor and counsellor are meeting maybe you know once a week or once in once a month or whatever you know depending on how long the situation is but the primary caregiver is constantly in contact with the counselling. So what are some of the things that I go to okay okay all right so in this instance if you're looking at a caregiver and counselling the certain scenarios I can think of is like a parent and child like a like a spouse relationship and maybe even siblings for that matter so any any major relations that are in the homes okay so that's that's the kind of scenario that takes place. Now I think an important thing for a counsellor is based on the presenting problem of the counselling. The counsellor needs to draw frame of the kind of contact that the counsellor will have with the with the caregiver and and depending on a situation on the situational like I said the presenting problem or this or the concern from the counselling you take the consent of the counselling. So let me give you an example let's say it's an it's an 18 year old young adult who's coming to you for help as against a minor who's coming to you for help. Now the minor is under the legal purview of the parent so as a counsellor there may be certain things that is important to relate to the parent because they are minors. Nevertheless this is something that is brought about in consent right at the beginning that that there may be so so you're right at the beginning of a caregiver as well as the your your counsellor counselling and letting either parties know depending on the assessment of the case. Now for example if you have someone who is severely mentally ill okay you do understand that confidentiality is not something that may not can be maintained you're finding that that let's say a child is having a a real breakout of a psychiatric illness okay and this is something that needs to be communicated to the parent because or to the caregiver because there is appropriate help that is needed. However let's say the child is has no psychiatric illness is severely just has significant emotional troubles and maybe the parent themselves are the biggest issue in the counsellor's life on this child's life so what do you how what discernment do you use as to how much you disclose and what is what kind of care do you need to take. So something that we do in practice is to build a counselling up to a place of confidence to begin to share important thoughts or processes about their counselling journey with the parent or with the caregiver within a counselling room because let's say for example if a child is talking about how much of distress they are feeling with their with their father and without really roping in the father you do see that change or you know a diminishing of the of the problem is is a huge problem. So you you need to bring that out at some point of time with the caregiver but you do not do it outside of the consent of the child but build them up to a point where they develop the confidence to discuss some of this with their caregiver like I said in the presence of you as a counsellor. So that's one thing that you would do and again to explain to the caregiver that the that the process of counselling is one in which the counselling is the most important part or person in the relationship and all because our referral has come from a caregiver that does not keep the counsellor binding on the caregiver to give information or advise or you know pull out things no it doesn't it doesn't give the counsellor the right to do that and that's something you would need to open up with the with the caregiver as well. Now let's say in in some issues where the caregiver definitely requires to know that there may be certain maybe the counsellor and the counsellor have come up with a plan of how they are going to do something and the caregiver is an important part of that process and something that they need to know. So that again is something you would help the counsellor to prepare themselves to provide that information to the caregiver so that they could be of support in the counselling relationship. Now I've seen if a caregiver in the first place does not regard that that counselling relationship it can be very very difficult because you have one person on one end telling you you know the caregiver saying that you know nothing's going to work counselling is not not needed and here on the other end the counsellor is doing the best to try and help them to emote and come to have a different perspective of what they're going through so you see that becomes a clash in itself there right so it can be it becomes difficult when the caregiver has has does not have a buy-in to what a counsellor is doing or you know is clueless about it so if there are important points of change or important points of you know like like you're helping the counsellor do something new it may require the support not it may it will require the support of the caregiver and you find means in which how the counsellor can begin to relate it to that caregiver. So yeah so and of course I think one of the main important things for the caregiver again is depending on what the situation is an awareness as to what's going on like for example let's say you're dealing with an elderly person who has Alzheimer's okay and as a caregiver they will not have any ideas to what's going on and these they think that either counselling or some kind of medical help is going to really fix it but it is how do you independently work with the caregiver so that you can protect the best interest of your counselling. So I'd say in different situations it plays out differently nevertheless what your what is your soul aim is to have the counsellor sorry the counsellor and the caregiver have similar objectives and goals if they are divided yes it becomes difficult it becomes hugely difficult to figure out you know how how can you help somebody when their core support system seems to be drawing them away from that support and that helps so yes that that becomes very difficult but when you're working with the caregiver you also help the caregiver look at what are your objectives which you may have discussed with your counsellor go back to the counsellor to the caregiver and discuss those objectives as to what are you trying or hoping to achieve through those sessions and how you would like their support and cooperation through that I hope I answered that oh yes I think yeah I mentioned it's quite situational and could be you know different types of scenarios which require that kind of different kind of approach just one question with regards to in case there is you know the counsellor and the caregiver are not on sync with you know the need for counselling what would you typically do in that in that kind of scenario so there we leave the choice to the counsellor and especially if they are adults because I mean now the case is different if a caregiver wants someone to have a caregiver wants their relative to have counselling but the counsellor but the but the relative doesn't or the patient themselves doesn't want to I mean there it's it's a it's an understood thing but you know you let the caregiver know that unless and until they're prepared and they would like to there's nothing that you can't force them into something like that but if it's the other way around the counsellor is willing or the relative is willing but the caregiver isn't it's easier to work because you have the cooperation and the willingness from the counsellor from the counsellor of course if it is a minor then that becomes difficult because you need the consent of the parent or of the adult if it's a minor then again that becomes an issue you may not be able to help much if there is a legal guardian who has refused the services okay all right okay quickly I'm just going to just a few more I think and then we'll be done um yeah so we were looking at yeah it says somebody else's okay so um um we're looking at yeah everyone has a question sam you do have a question yeah but I don't know I'm also aware of the time do you have to finish probably I could just post it on chat all right to you yeah maybe I think if you could post it on chat that'll be helpful okay and uh I've been on the stream on the stream yeah okay okay so um yeah uh just to certain do's and don'ts of one is being able to respect any kind of cultural differences that you may see excuse me uh just being careful about the gestures or expressions or anything that can be interpreted as uh as seductive or or sexually offensive is something you've got to be careful about uh being careful not to make any comments about a counsellor's body or clothing or also not to engage in any inappropriate affectionate behavior with with a counsellor these are all do's and don'ts are not talking about your own the counsellor not talking about their own sexual preference their fantasies their problems uh not requesting a date with a counsellor not meeting your personal needs in other areas of your life for example maybe you know your counsellor owns a big supermarket so you're saying give me 20 discount from your supermarket that becomes uh unethical in itself okay and uh last uh maintaining supervision or consultation relationship so it's it's good if there is whenever you're meeting with people to have some form of a supervision or core group where some cases and issues are being discussed okay um just quickly the role of dual relationships like i said the dual relationships are those that have more than one role with a counsellor and such relationships often blur those kind of boundaries uh these blurring of boundaries can be can can be risky because of the risk of exploitation as these become they become confused so um again not all counselling counselling interactions are dual relationships what are not dual relationships like for example you know you run into a counsellor at a social event like maybe a marriage right that's okay that's all right doesn't mean that you have to you know leave the wedding hall or your counsellor is a waiter at a restaurant that also it's okay um it what what really matters is how you participate in that interaction not really talking about things that should be probably spoken about in a counselling room keeping it that for later and you know maybe just a warm hello and um you know just a few pleasantries is what is what is important okay now just this is this is quite important what are the rules of these ethics uh and code for for a pastor or an unlicent pastoral counsellor so actually by law now i need you to remember that this is something that is more an american law than it is here over here uh we we have there aren't really specific laws for pastoral counsellors okay um but they are not typically required to hold the similar standards of of professional conduct as a practitioner but nevertheless like for example you know your as a pastor you may have uh you know they may be one among your own congregation okay there may be multiple things that you you know about about the family there um so generally a licensed or a or a professional counsellor will not see more than one member of the same family for for personal counselling like you do not personally counsel the the husband on their issues and the wife on their issues and the children on their issues because it can again become a conflict of interest uh but as pastors or or uh pastor counsellors you recognize any moral or or ethical imperatives that exists as part of your ethics so all of those boundaries that we spoke about the consent um the confidentiality all of that continues to exist maybe a lot of these roles that one plays may be a little more blurred but uh it's not typically it's they're not held similar to those to those standards okay all right I think someone has a question Kennedy did you have a question yeah yeah thank you very much yes what I just wanted to ask you it's uh maybe it could vary from place to place to be on case to case basis just talk about the issue of charging professional fee or how you live in or how you charge your clients can you get some guidance of course you see this is more of a long kind of case when you're handling things right right okay so um I think it in as in any other profession it is important to be able to charge a fee so just just to give you an example of us at uh at the counseling center at apc we do charge a very very nominal fee and this this is this more than than actually the charging of the fee it is for the sake of an accountability for many reasons one is accountability that uh you know this is not just something that you freely come to just talk about and spend your time and uh you know just chat over it is something that is very structured something that is very meaningful something that's that has objectives and goals in it the second thing is it increases the uh accountability of the person of the counseling themselves that the the very fact that they they are also investing in it for their own health for their own betterment of their own uh growth uh that's something that that we do uh we do uh hold rightly um the the third thing is also that um uh that this this is one like you said this is something that goes in probably for many people take this take these sessions for a long period of time so just to have have that um profession i'm i'm saying it is professional but i'd say that ethical professional consideration that this is also something this person has learned and studied and researched and you know spend time in in working so you're actually consuming the time of a counselor there like a christian counselor you're consuming the time of a christian counselor when they could have actually done something elsewhere so personally i think it's a personal take that it is important even if it's a really nominal fee to bring about a certain charge for these sessions because it helps like this an objectivity in accountability um as well as a respect for what the person is doing so that's my personal stand however i know there are some christian counseling centers that um that have pro bono sessions that do not take in money at all so that's that's probably their principle and that's fine also okay all right thank you okay so we have come to the end of our course and um yeah i don't think there are any questions yeah so it's been it's been wonderful i i really hope you know some of you have got a got a stronger interest to this and pursue it in some way and you know learn more maybe get trained more in just because it absolutely has enriched my life and the way that i've related to others and i pray that god would each use each of you in wherever you are placed to minister to encourage to strengthen others okay let's just close with a word of prayer i'd like to pray today please heavenly father lord we thank you for the last five months that we've journeyed together in the course on counseling lord thank you that uh every principle lord comes from your word lord we pray that you give each of us a heart to minister a heart to serve lord a heart that is compassionate yet holy spirit we pray that you give us the wisdom and the discernment to deal with people maybe be careful to not make choices and road maps for others but father maybe be so keen to be willing to help people to come up with their thoughts their understanding their ideas and yet father give us the ability to bring them to a place to a juncture of change lord i thank you for these skills and knowledge that we've picked up lord lord i pray for each person who attended these classes each student who attended these classes that you will put your spirit in their hearts father and wherever you are calling them to that you will bring to remembrance things we have learned we've picked up and lord that their ministry would be efficient lord would be productive because of some of these skills that they've used i pray father that that you will help each one of them give them a discerning heart and mind and spirit to understand problems to draw out concerns lord to challenge people and their ways of thinking be present and empathetic in times where they're feeling low father you give them these skills thank you father for the opportunity that you've given me to interact with each one of them lord i bless them in your name and i pray that you will open doors for them where they can employ and use all that they have picked up may none of this go for waste may none of this knowledge and understanding go for waste but be put to the right use for your kingdom thank you because you will place each one of us in the right place at the right time in the right season to minister to those who are hurting i thank you lord i just bless each student here their families and and their ministries their work their responsibilities god i pray that you flourish them for all lord for all that you have entrusted to them for the obedience they've showed through these through the course for the for the accountability that they've had i pray that you will assault them reward them mightily father thank you for your goodness i pray also for the e-learning students for all those students who have who have logged in week after week master i pray that you will reach to them you will touch their lives god and you will bless lord the work of their hands thank you once again father we await god your will in our lives especially as we minister to people thank you master we ask all these things in your precious name amen amen thank you all so much thank you all thank you please ensure that you finish your assessment before tomorrow thank you god thank you thank you so much thank you thank you thank you pastor thank you everyone god bless