There is no greater way to influence others than by preaching the gospel to them.  The gospel message is the greatest message the world has ever heard and without it salvation is impossible.  The first thing a person must do to be saved is believe in Jesus.

John 14:6 (ESV)
⁶  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Peter acknowledged that Jesus has the words of eternal life (John 6:68) and that there is salvation in no other name (Acts 4:12).  Since the gospel is the message about Jesus (Romans 1:1-4), a person cannot be saved without hearing the gospel.  This is one reason why Paul called the gospel the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16).  We can see here the importance of our willingness to preach the gospel to the lost.  If we fail to do so, they will not hear the truth that can save them.

Romans 10:14 (ESV)
¹⁴  How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

Are you willing to preach the gospel to the lost?  If you ever help the Lord save a person by sowing the seed, which is the Word of God (Luke 8:11), that saved person immediately becomes a new creation in Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)
¹⁷  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Talk about influence!  When you help lead others to Christ, you help them become completely new people.  Their main focus in life changes.  At least to some degree, their character changes, some much more radically than others.  Most importantly, their destiny changes.  They escape the grasp of Satan, the end of which is being thrown into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41), and are now on the path that leads to heaven, a place of eternal bliss in the presence of God (Revelation 21:1-5).  How could you ever influence another person in a greater way than this?

There is something else to consider about the influence you are having when you sow the seed.  Whoever is converted by the Word that you preach, will probably, in turn, have an impact on others.  They will become better husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, employees and employers, etc.  When you preach the gospel, you are quite possibly influencing entire families, and, by extension, even having an impact upon communities.  When you diligently plant the seed of the church, it is not too much to say that you are helping to change the world.  Now, that’s influence.

If you want to make a difference in the lives of others, you do not have to be rich and famous or even very well known.  Just preach the gospel, and your influence will be immense.

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