--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you make disciples, you always get the…" description: "\"“If you make disciples, you always get the church. But if you make a church, you rarely get disciples. A gifted discipler is someone who invites people..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b3/mike-breen-24543_bible_if-you-make-disciples-you-always-get-the_2540374.jpg" --- # If you make disciples, you always get the church. But if… ![“If you make disciples, you always get the church. But if you make a church, you rarely get disciples. A gifted discipler is someone who invites people into a covenantal relationship with him or her, but challenges that person to live into his or her true identity in very direct yet graceful ways…” quote by Mike Breen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b3/mike-breen-24543_bible_if-you-make-disciples-you-always-get-the_2540374.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b3/mike-breen-24543_bible_if-you-make-disciples-you-always-get-the_2540374.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b3/mike-breen-24543_bible_if-you-make-disciples-you-always-get-the_2540374.jpg) > ““If you make disciples, you always get the church. But if you make a church, you rarely get disciples. A gifted discipler is someone who invites people into a covenantal relationship with him or her, but challenges that person to live into his or her true identity in very direct yet graceful ways. Without both dynamics working together, you will not see people grow into the people God has created them to be. Challenge may be given from the pulpit or stage on Sunday mornings, but challenge is always given best in the context of personal relationships. No one accidentally creates disciples. Discipleship is an intentional pursuit. In life, when we want to learn how to do something, we find someone with real flesh and blood and have that person teach us how to do what they do. The truth of Scripture is meant to be worked out in us, not something that we hold as an abstract reality. If there’s anything any of us should become great at, it’s making disciples who can make disciples. Every disciple disciples. You can’t be a disciple if you aren’t willing to invest in and disciple others. That’s simply the call of the Great Commission. From the beginning, members know that one day they will start a group of their own. Leaders tell members from the beginning that the expectation is that in 6-12 months they will start one of their own. People often become stunted in their spiritual development if they assume it is only affecting them (though this is never really the case), but knowing that other people are depending on them changes the game in their minds and makes them take their own spiritual development more seriously. When the bar is raised, people either bow out or step up. Most of the time people step up. It is our experience that people want to grow but are unable to will themselves to transformation. They need relationships and structures that keep them accountable and moving toward Jesus. They also know the only way this can happen is with high commitment.”” [Mike Breen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-breen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effective discipleship requires intentional relationships and mutual commitment, not just institutional structures; personal accountability drives spiritual growth. **In simple terms:** Discipleship works through intentional, relational mentorship. Key Takeaway Invest in people to multiply leadership. Themes faith leadership mentorship growth Mood encouraging serious Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - church small groups - mentor‑mentee programs - leadership training Key Concepts covenantal relationship great commission spiritual formation Questions to Reflect On - How can we create safe spaces for honest growth? - What structures support sustained discipleship? 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But if you make a church, you rarely get disciples.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-breen/if-you-make-disciples-you-always-get-the-church-but-if-you-make-a/) [Mike Breen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-breen/) > [“Our commission is to compassionately reach out to those around us, invite them to join us in community, share the story of the gospel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-breen/our-commission-is-to-compassionately-reach-out-to-those-around-us/) [Mike Breen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-breen/) > [“MCs center their rhythms on growing in relationship with God (UP), with one another (IN), and with those they are reaching out to (OUT).…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-breen/mcs-center-their-rhythms-on-growing-in-relationship-with-god-up-with/) [Mike Breen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-breen/) > [Even though we say Church Growth, we are actually saying, Making Disciples of Christ. 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S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I must add, though, that I don't believe making disciples must equal making adherents to the Christian religion. It may be advisable in many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-d-mclaren/i-must-add-though-that-i-don-t-believe-making-disciples-must-equal/) [Brian D. McLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-d-mclaren/) > [“The church best glorifies God by making disciples, simply because fruit-bearing believers glorify God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hull/the-church-best-glorifies-god-by-making-disciples-simply-because/) [Bill Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hull/) > [Making disciples isn’t about gathering pupils to listen to your teaching. 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We all must labor, prayerfully expectant that God will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-furman/the-motherhood-to-which-every-christian-woman-is-called-is-making/) [Gloria Furman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-furman/) ## More by Mike Breen > [“And so the world fell under the influence of one who hated God, hated his creation and in particular hated that part of creation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-breen/and-so-the-world-fell-under-the-influence-of-one-who-hated-god-hated/) [Mike Breen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-breen/) > [“We have become human “doings” rather than human “beings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-breen/we-have-become-human-doings-rather-than-human-beings/) [Mike Breen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-breen/) > [“We may wonder if there is any purpose in the “broken” times of our life, times when we have suffered failure, loss or disappointment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-breen/we-may-wonder-if-there-is-any-purpose-in-the-broken-times-of-our-life/) [Mike Breen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-breen/) > [“Prayer was as fundamental an element in the life of Jesus as breathing. 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But if you make a church, you rarely get disciples.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-breen/if-you-make-disciples-you-always-get-the-church-but-if-you-make-a/) [Mike Breen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-breen/) [Explore all 24 Mike Breen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-breen/) ## More Bible quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [“God hates Hell. 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Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-peterson/) > [“The wife of a junior officer cooped up in a horrible canvas partition in steerage for five months wrote: "I had enjoyed much peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-taylor/the-wife-of-a-junior-officer-cooped-up-in-a-horrible-canvas-partition/) [Stephen Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-taylor/) > [O Word of God incarnate . . . 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Discipleship is an intentional pursuit. In life, when we want to learn how to do something, we find someone with real flesh and blood and have that person teach us how to do what they do. The truth of Scripture is meant to be worked out in us, not something that we hold as an abstract reality. If there’s anything any of us should become great at, it’s making disciples who can make disciples. Every disciple disciples. You can’t be a disciple if you aren’t willing to invest in and disciple others. That’s simply the call of the Great Commission. From the beginning, members know that one day they will start a group of their own. Leaders tell members from the beginning that the expectation is that in 6-12 months they will start one of their own. People often become stunted in their spiritual development if they assume it is only affecting them (though this is never really the case), but knowing that other people are depending on them changes the game in their minds and makes them take their own spiritual development more seriously. When the bar is raised, people either bow out or step up. Most of the time people step up. It is our experience that people want to grow but are unable to will themselves to transformation. They need relationships and structures that keep them accountable and moving toward Jesus. 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