40 Quotes on Disciple-Making

1. “Making disciples is all about seeing people transformed by the power of God’s Word. If you want to see that happen in others, you need to be experiencing such transformation yourself.” – Francis Chan

2. “Success should be measured not by how many disciples are made, but by how many disciples are making other disciples” – Bill Hull

3. “Ultimately, Jesus calls his disciples to make disciples, who will make disciples. It is through this factor of multiplication that Christianity has grown and spread into every nation of the world.” -Dr. Craig Kraft

4. “Making disciples of Jesus is the overflow of delight in being disciples of Jesus.” – David Platt

5. “To make disciples is to engage with God in fulfilling his desire to bless all the peoples of the earth.” – John B. MacDonald

6. “Since making disciples is the main task of the church, every church ought to be able to answer two questions: What is our plan for making disciples? Is our plan working” -Dallas Willard

7. “The church must recapture its missionary identity and activate every Jesus-follower to engage wholeheartedly in the ongoing mission of God.” – Brad Brisco

8. “The Great Commission was given by Jesus to all and every Christian, not only to pastors or missionaries.” – Cristina Boersma

9. “You teach what you know, but you reproduce what you are.” – Howard G. Hendricks

10. “Jesus said go and make disciples, but so often we just sit and make excuses.” – Francis Chan

11. “If you make disciples, you always get the church. But if you make a church, you rarely get disciples.” – Mike Breen

12. “Making disciples is not a 6-week event, but rather a relationship journey. How can you build in more margin for people time? Is your schedule interruptible? What can you stop doing, so you have time for the people God brings to you?” – Lorna Johnston

13. “Only a disciple can make a disciple.” – A. W. Tozer

14. “The gospel we preach and believe dictates the kind of disciples we are and the kind of disciples we make.” – Bill Hull

15. “Thriving churches have the Great Commission as the centerpiece of their vision, while dying churches have forgotten the clear command of Christ.” – Thom S. Rainer

16. "You cannot obey the Great Commission until you obey the Great Command (Matt 22:34-40)"-Al McKay

17. “The church changes the world not by making converts but by making disciples.” – John Wesley

18. “If the Church is not Making Disciples, then all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible, are a waste of time.” – C.S. Lewis

19. “If you think making disciples of Jesus is all it matters in God's eyes, then just do it now!” - Alfred Chui

20. “God loves long discipleship Journeys ... let's do what God loves!” - Chris Morris

21. "We must not conflate ‘discipleship’ and ‘disciple-making’ as is commonly done in today's church. Discipleship is our personal obedience to Christ as Lord. Disciple-making is the process of helping others become and begin making disciples. Neither is optional. We cannot neglect one for the other and be faithful to Christ." - Murray Moerman

22. “We can say that the Great Commission is a ‘double edged sword: It cuts two ways – the nations are discipled when the Church engages in the Great Commission and the Great Commission perfects His Church!” – Max Chismon

23. "Come and see." - the disciple Philip John 1:46

24. “Can I encourage you to ‘waste seed’ as you interact with lost people around you? Don’t try to assess the fertility of the soil before you sow. Just toss gospel seed out there and see what grows.” – Lorna Johnston

25. “Jesus was never interested in having admirers. It's not fans he is looking for.” -Lee Strobel

26. “Discipleship is the process of becoming who Jesus would be if he were you.” -Dallas Willard

27. “Asking questions and encouraging questions are powerful tools for making disciples.” -John B. MacDonald

28. “Disciple making is not a call for others to come to us to hear the gospel but a command for us to got to others to share the gospel.” -David Platt

29. “If you take missions out of the Bible, you won't have anything left but the covers.” – Nina Gunter

30. “In order to make fully mature disciples of Jesus we must live in gospel-centered communities together on mission” – Caesar Kalinowski

31. “Discipleship is not an option. Jesus says that if anyone would come after me, he must follow me.” -Tim Keller

32. “It takes God a long time to get us to stop thinking that unless everyone sees things exactly as we do, they must be wrong. That is never God’s view. There is only one true liberty—the liberty of Jesus at work in our conscience enabling us to do what is right. Don’t get impatient with others. Remember how God dealt with you—with patience and with gentleness. But never water down the truth of God. Let it have its way and never apologize for it. Jesus said, ‘Go . . . and make disciples . . .’ (Matthew 28:19), not, ‘Make converts to your own thoughts and opinions.’” -Oswald Chambers

33. “Become one who counts the cost of being [a disciple] and the cost of not being one. It is a huge loss to not step into the life He made us for! And prepared work for us to do!” - Soo De Vries

34. “The purposes of God are unfolding all around the world and in our neighborhoods. Take the opportunity to recalibrate for the ever-changing context, investing in the lives of those who want to grow in obedience to all that Jesus commanded.” - Lorna Johnston

35. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Jesus (Matthew 28) 

36. “Making disciples was demonstrated to be the priority of Jesus. He said, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” -Murray Moerman

37. “Disciple-Making is not something we do. It is something God accomplishes as we fix our thoughts, desires, and efforts on Jesus” -Phil Cox

38. “What makes authentic disciples is not visions, ecstasies, biblical mastery of chapter and verse, or spectacular success in the ministry, but a capacity for faithfulness. Buffeted by the fickle winds of failure, battered by their own unruly emotions, and bruised by rejection and ridicule, authentic disciples may have stumbled and frequently fallen, endured lapses and relapses, gotten handcuffed to the fleshpots and wandered into a far county. Yet, they kept coming back to Jesus.” -Brennan Manning

39. “Sometimes we get hung up on the challenges of taking that big step of being a discipler. Rather, it is quite simple to take small daily steps with someone who is on the same journey. Discipleship is more about the journey than the destination.” - Craig Kraft

40. “There is joy in heaven and God's Kingdom comes on earth as God's children come into alignment with heaven bringing the transformation for which all the world yearns.” - Murray Moerman

Verses on Making Disciples

If you are looking for verses about Making Disciples, check out: 37 Verses on Making Disciples.

Other Disciple-Making Resources

For further reading about Making Disciples, check out these articles:

How the Church Can Make Disciples in 2023

4 Ways to Make Disciples Like Jesus Did

A Simple Recipe for Making Disciples

Wasting Seed

Melissa Berry is the Digital Content Coordinator at Outreach Canada. Her favourite part of her role is getting to share stories - the stories of OC people & the stories of how God is at work. If she had a free afternoon, you'd probably find Melissa on an adventure with her husband & two children (with a chai tea in hand, of course).