Editor's note: Beáta Szilágyi was elected as district treasurer of the Hungary District early this year. As a new leader, Szilágyi was selected to participate in the Leadership Development Initiative (LDI) that is being conducted in every district across the Eurasia Region over a five-year period.

Through LDI, about a dozen potential or new leaders are selected in every district to participate in a weekend leadership training event that focuses both on spiritual and character formation as well as practical application. Each participant is paired with a mentor during the next two years.

Szilágyi, who attends the Budapest Church of the Nazarene, describes how the Hungary District LDI has influenced her growth as a leader in ministry. (To read more about the Leadership Development Initiative, check out the April 2010 issue of Where Worlds Meet, available for download at www.eurasiaregion.org.)

Engage: Please explain a few of the most important concepts you learned at the Leadership Development Initiative weekend?

Szilágyi: The most important concepts for me were and are:

  • Trust God and the fact that He has called you and given you great talents, because He loves you;
  • Have a better understanding of the leadership nature of Jesus;
  • Have integrity in your life (with how you act and what you say);
  • The importance of modesty when serving others;
  • Knowing what I have to focus on if I desire to be a good leader.

Engage: How have these concepts shaped your leadership since the training?

Szilágyi: One of the major things that has brought me change is to live my life with a more focused mind with more awareness. Now that I know more about what leadership means in the Kingdom of God, I have a better understanding of how my actions and words can influence others and how others can have an effect on me. And this I believe is very important; we are responsible for each other.

For several years, up until last summer, my heart was feeling restless in the sense that I felt like I should be going somewhere into the world or that I should find my path and purpose in this life. All that ended last autumn at the LDI event. I was praying a lot so that I could understand this feeling. After LDI, it became clear to me that I could really live through and understand the simplest but most essential thought: that I have to do my part in leading people to God. I have to share my faith by leading with my heart and from my heart, honestly and for His glory.

Engage: What do you think about the mentoring relationships that you established with a mentor during the LDI and afterward? How has this helped you and your personal growth as a leader?

Szilágyi: My mentor has been a very good friend of mine and our relationship just gets deeper and deeper. She supports me and shares the thoughts with me that keep coming up in my head and she serves as great help when I have to deal with the situation or with the feeling. She gives me practical advice. I just love to spend time with her as we unfold the "unknown parts" of my soul.

Engage: How has God worked in your life and ministry through this training and since?

Szilágyi: He answered my prayers (about what I mentioned in answer four) and calmed my heart down; now I feel at home wherever I go. He gives me patience to wait until people are ready to come to Him and gives me hints with what I can reach them with (i.e. through books, talking, pictures, music, etc); I now feel more open in accepting people.

God has brought many people into my life -- people of other faiths who are different to me in their religion. The greatest blessings may come from those talks we have about God in a very peaceful and accepting way. People now notice something different about me. I always try to let God shine through me and let Him bring people to Him through me and I serve Him through whomever He brings toward me.

Even though I work in finance and accounting, the nomination for the district treasurer duties at the beginning of March came as a surprise to me, but I gladly accepted it. It is an honor to fulfill the work of this ministry and a great desire of my heart.

Engage: What is the vision you have for your ministry or for the district where you lead?

 Szilágyi: Some thoughts that support me and I would like to share:

  • Really trust in God (relying on Him is not as easy as it sounds, but so worth it).
  • You are only responsible for your actions and reactions. How others react to your acts and actions is not your responsibility.
  • Integrity is one of the first things people notice about you and makes your faith real and true in their eyes. One of the easiest ways to lose a person's trust is if you don't have integrity.
  • You are accountable to God, first.
  • Always be humble in serving others and in leading.

Pray for Szilagyi and other leaders in Hungary and throughout the Eurasia Region, as they learn and grow in Christlikeness and wisdom.