Magdalena Szyszkowska is part of the Fellowship of Christian Leaders' staff and a women's leader in her local church in Poland.
When did you trust Christ?
When I was in high school, my sister shared with me the significance of Jesus' death on the cross. I remember I asked my sister what would happen if I died knowing the Gospel but not receiving it. My sister said, 'You would go to hell'. She was earnest, and I could see she was very sad. This was the first turning point in my life. However, after a long time, I walked away. Only in 2016, when I was diagnosed with breast cancer, did I again fall in love with Jesus, realising that I can only rely on the Lord—it was a revival. I left the Catholic church and became a member of a Presbyterian church, where I learned how God works in me and how I am becoming a spiritually mature woman.
What have been the defining moments of your Christian walk?
A defining moment was in 2016 when I had breast cancer. That was the point where I put all my trust in Jesus Christ. It was like a revival. I started trusting Him and getting to know Him more and more through Bible study. Then, in 2019, I become a member of the Presbyterian Church.
What do you hope to gain from participating?
I attended Women in Leadership in 2022, but then I got sick again and had to stop my ministry. Now, I feel I need to refresh my knowledge. I want to learn how to use tools to lead a Bible group and also how to stay motivated and encourage others to attend regularly. I also need some intellectual and spiritual growth that will challenge me. I look forward to bonding with other women and learning from their experiences. It would be refreshing to be a participant for a change and not an organiser of FOCL initiatives.
What is your ministry?
I am on staff with the Forum of Christian Leaders (FOCL), helping to organise initiatives for FOCL and the European Leadership Forum. In my local church, I am a leader of the women's ministry. This usually involves either organising one of our four conferences during the year, being an emcee, giving talks, or sharing my testimony. I also have a blog on Facebook and Instagram called 'Amazing Grace', where I share the Gospel and my experiences with cancer.
What is your leadership role or what were your past leadership roles?
In recent years, I have been invited twice to lead a workshop at a large women's conference in Warsaw. In these talks, I spoke about how to be grateful to God despite the hardships of life based on my experiences with cancer.
Why should someone invest in your ministry?
I want to gain skills on how to better share the Gospel. I am a shy person, so this is a challenge for me. I also have very little experience in evangelism. I am good at building relationships with others and based on that I share the Gospel, but I would like to gain more courage and learn techniques to use in evangelism.
