Modeling Faith for the Next Generation: The Power of Imitation

Based on Philippians 3:17-4:1

"Join together in following my example," Paul writes, "and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do" (Philippians 3:17, NIV).

Church leaders, especially those guiding older adults, know that faith is not only taught—it is caught. The apostle Paul understood this deeply. As he planted communities of believers across the Mediterranean, he couldn't be present with each congregation. Instead, he relied on trusted leaders who could serve as examples of Christian living. Paul called on believers to imitate him and those he had mentored.

Today, imitation remains one of the most effective ways we learn and grow. Just think about everyday life:

• When faced with a plumbing issue, we might watch a YouTube tutorial, carefully watching, then copying each step.
• In music lessons, we learn best when we place our hands atop our teacher’s, mimicking the motion until we understand the rhythm and shape of the song.
• On the slopes, a ski instructor demonstrates first, and we follow—turning, stopping, and moving just as the instructor does.

Faith is learned in the same way.

In our churches, older adults hold a powerful position—not just as keepers of memory and tradition, but as living examples of resilient, grace-filled discipleship. Whether older adults realize it or not, younger generations are watching them. How they pray, how they serve, how they respond to life’s challenges—all these actions become quiet but profound lessons.

Paul reminds us that Christian maturity is not only for our benefit. It is to be lived out in community, imitated, and passed on. Our call is twofold: to keep our eyes on faithful models around us and to become faithful models for others.

As a leader, consider this:

• Are the older adults in your congregation aware of the influence they have?
• Are you helping them see the value in modeling a life of faith for others?
• How might you equip them to become confident spiritual mentors in your church?

Let us encourage our older adults not to retire from spiritual leadership, but to step into it with renewed purpose, knowing that someone, somewhere, is learning how to follow Christ by watching them.

Reflection Questions:

• Who has modeled Christian living for you?
• How are you modeling a life worth imitating?
• What habit or attitude could you cultivate this week that reflects Christ to others?

Verses marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Gay Jeffery is the mother of three grown sons and four grandchildren. In the first half of her professional life, she taught fourth grade. Her students learned long division by imitation. They learned to play the recorder by imitation. In the second half of her professional life, she was an ordained minister who learned to preach by paying attention to and imitating pastors whose sermons spoke to her. She learned to apply scripture by the practice of lectio divina. Now retired and widowed, Gay reaches out to longtime friends and current church members with Grace Notes, a daily meditation written as an amalgamation of listening to the Spirit speak through scripture and observing the Spirit at work in the world.