Defining a Growth Mindset

Defining A Growth Mindset

A growth mindset is the belief that people can develop through effort, feedback, learning, and God’s grace. It’s not wishful thinking - it’s a biblical posture of humility, perseverance, and hope.

By contrast, a fixed mindset assumes that traits like leadership ability, spiritual maturity, or ministry skill are mostly set - you either have them or you don’t. It can quietly show up in our thinking, sounding like:

• “I’ve always struggled with this - it’s just not my strength.”

• “We’ve tried change before, and it didn’t work.”

• “If I don’t get it right the first time, it means I’m not cut out for this.”

• “We’re a small church - we’ll never have those kinds of opportunities.”

The danger? A fixed mindset stifles growth before it even begins. It avoids risk, resists feedback, and often leads to discouragement or burnout.

A growth mindset doesn’t deny the difficulty - it just believes God is shaping the shepherd and the sheep.

Some additional passages on Mindset

Romans 12:2: is a key verse in the Bible that emphasizes the importance of renewing one's mind to discern God's will and live a life that pleases Him

Ephesians 4:23-24: also speaks to renewing the mind, stating "and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."

Philippians 4:8: encourages us to focus on "whatever is true, honest, right, pure, lovely, of good report."

Proverbs 4:23: states "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."

2 Corinthians 4:16: speaks to the ongoing nature of renewal, saying, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.”