The biggest barrier to church growth might be how we’re seeing things

I’ve been reflecting on Peter Senge’s idea of mental models this week—and I’ve seen it play out so clearly in church leadership.

Recently, I was part of a conversation with a group of church leaders about declining engagement.

Two leaders responded very differently.

One said: “People just aren’t as committed as they used to be.”

Another said: “People are spiritually hungry - but disconnected.”

Same situation. Completely different interpretations. And therefore… completely different strategies: "People are less committed" leads to lower expectations, simplifying everything, and avoiding challenge. "People are spiritually hungry but disconnected" leads to investing in discipleship, creating smaller communities and improving communication and belonging.

That’s the power of mental models. They are the hidden assumptions we carry about:

• people

• church

• growth

• leadership

And here’s the challenge:

We don’t respond to reality—we respond to our interpretation of reality.

So if our assumptions go unexamined, we can end up:

• solving the wrong problems

• lowering expectations unnecessarily

• missing what God might actually be doing

In my experience working with church leaders, the biggest breakthroughs often don’t come from new strategies…

They come from seeing differently.

As leaders, one of the most important disciplines we can develop is simply this:

“What am I assuming here?”

Because sometimes the shift we need isn’t a better plan— it’s a renewed perspective.

Here are 5 simple questions I encourage teams to reflect on:

1. What are we assuming about our congregation right now?

2. What are we assuming about growth?

3. What are we assuming about our community?

4. What are we assuming about what “success” looks like?

5. Where might we be wrong?

👇 I’d love to hear your reflections.