When individuals obey the gospel, they are added to the church (Acts 2:47).  After becoming members of the universal church, first-century Christians joined themselves to local churches that were organized with elders, deacons, and saints (Acts 9;26-28; Philippians 1:1).  We read of local churches at Jerusalem, Colossae, Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, Troas, etc.

It is in the local church that we exert the most influence over other Christians, that is, if we are active members who are carrying out the responsibilities that God has given, using our talents to His glorification.  Listen to some of the instructions that Paul tells Titus to give to the local church at Crete.  

Titus 2:2 (ESV)
²  Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.

Men are to be leaders in the church and the home.  The sentiment of Joshua to serve the Lord with his house (Joshua 24:15), should be the attitude of all older men in the church.  We, by our influence, should pass that on to the younger men of the congregation.  To do that we must be sure that we possess the godly characteristics that Paul mentioned to Titus in the passage above.

If you are an older man in a local church, are you a good influence on the young men of the congregation?  It starts with being sober-minded and self-controlled, etc., but it does not end there.  Influence the young men of the church by being active wherever you can.  Participate in services.  Be prepared for Bible class, and always be an example of a man who is sound in faith.  Your influence matters.  The future of the local church will be in the hands of the young men we have now.  Let us do our best to show them what kind of men they should be.

Titus 2:3-5 (ESV)
³  Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, ⁴  and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, ⁵  to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

While it may be the men who take on the leadership roles and lead publicly in the local church, churches are only as strong as the faithful women who stand beside them and give them support.  Sound local churches are filled with faithful women who love the Lord and know their roles in the church and the home.  The church desperately needs older women to train the young women of the congregation how to behave properly.  Proper behavior is what God says it is, not what the world thinks.  It involves loving and submitting to husbands, and being good managers of the home.  It involves living lives of purity and temperance.

If you are an older sister in Christ, your responsibility is to teach and train the younger women to live properly.  Are you exerting your influence to that end?  You do not have to lead city-wide classes or conduct courses around the country.  You merely have to behave reverently, showing by your life what it means to be a godly woman, giving good advice whenever you can, and backing it up with your own proper behavior.

Let those of us who are a little older do our best to influence the young for good.  Let us instruct them when we can, but first and foremost, let’s show them by our lives what kind of men and women God wants them to be.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.