The top 4 reasons your church needs a comprehensive assimilation system
In an environment where 94% of churches in America aren’t keeping pace with their community’s growth, the question isn’t whether we need new outreach ideas—it’s whether we’re making the most of the people God already brings through our doors.
A church-wide assimilation strategy is not just another program. It’s a shared system that helps guests feel seen, connected, and equipped to grow.
Most leaders sense the need for it—they just need help convincing their team, board, or themselves that now is the time to act.
In this short 6-minute video, I share 4 reasons why churches in our culture need a church-wide strategy for connecting guests.
I guarantee that some of these, you have not considered.
Use this video in the following ways:
Show it to your staff to get on the same page regarding the value of connecting guest in the same way across the board at your church.
Share it with your Senior Pastor, Board, or Executive Team, especially if they mistakenly equate assimilation with discipleship, serving of believers only, or with an effort that competes with outreach.
Watch it with your team and discuss the implications using the "To chew on while we climb" questions below.
Watch it yourself to stretch your understanding of the vital importance of what you do as someone who is passionate about connecting guests to the life of your church.
1️⃣ Increased Attendance
We’ve been trained to think of outreach events, Instagram ads, and mailers as the ways to grow a church.
And while outreach is valuable, most churches already have what they need to grow—they’re just not keeping the people who are already showing up.
Whether you notice them or not, every weekend there are guests are walking into your church.
At any average church, there are usually as many guests in a year as you have average weekly attendance.
How many butts were in the seats last Sunday?
That’s about how many new people walked through your doors for the first time over the last year.
These guests are the birds in the hand, not the birds in the outreach bushes.
What’s different about them?
They’re walking through something that made them look for God.
They’re “pre-connected” to someone already in your church.
Or they’re church seekers visiting because something about your reputation drew them in.
If you can connect these people—not just greet them—your church will grow. Period.
When you develop a system that consistently moves guests into small groups and ministry teams, you keep them for years.
That’s the difference between attendance that spikes and attendance that sticks.
2️⃣ Increased Momentum
When our team at Eastside began intentionally crafting our assimilation system, we moved from being a healthy, growing church to one of the fastest-growing churches in America—11th one year, and then 2nd nationwide just five years later.
Why? Because we weren’t just counting decisions—we were keeping people.
We weren’t just hosting guests—we were connecting them.
When people find belonging, momentum builds.
Attendance grows in the right direction: not just numerically, but spiritually.
That’s the power of a church-wide assimilation strategy.
3️⃣ Increased Unity
Our senior pastor, Gene Appel, saw how powerful this system was for newcomers—so much so that he wanted the entire church to experience it.
He came up with an idea:
What if every small group—new or seasoned—went through our assimilation process together for one season?
The result was incredible.
Hundreds of people jumped in, and for the first time, our whole church was on the same page about who we were, what we valued, and what it meant to belong here.
It unified our culture in a way no sermon series or event could.
Because when your connection process becomes shared language, the entire church moves in the same direction.
4️⃣ Increased Generosity
Here’s something we didn’t expect: when we improved how we connected people, giving increased too.
Our operations director began noticing a clear pattern. As newcomers grew in belonging, they also grew in generosity.
It makes sense—when people feel connected, they give differently. Consistently. Joyfully.
We watched new believers—people with no church background—learn to budget, tithe, and sacrifice in ways that stunned us.
Because connection creates ownership, and ownership fuels generosity.
The Bottom Line
Don’t think of an assimilation strategy as an extra ministry.
Think of it as the circulatory system of your church—the one that keeps every part of the body supplied with new life.
When you invest in connection, you’re not just retaining guests—you’re multiplying disciples.
And there’s some holy urgency I need to add… God is sending guests to your church. Every week. But what father would keep giving a weekly allowance to a child who lost it every week?
We’ve got to get this right.
What to Do Next
If you’re ready to help your guests feel seen, connected, and equipped to grow, here are two easy ways to start:
Option 1: Start with an Assimilation Audit
See how your current process stacks up and where connection might be stalling out.
In a 10-minute audit + a 30-minute debrief call with one of us, you’ll get a snapshot of how well your church moves guests from screen → seat → circle → street—and what to fix first.
Check out the Assimilation Audit →
Option 2: Join the Sherpa Tribe for a Month
Ready to build your system instead of just talk about it?
Join the Sherpa Tribe and get instant access to over 100 plug-and-play resources, including:
Step-by-step video action plans for everything in your system
Weekly group coaching calls to troubleshoot and personalize
A year’s worth of of pre-service huddle plans and follow-up guides
Try it risk-free for one month and walk away with a plan that works.
TO CHEW ON WHILE WE CLIMB
➊ After watching the video, which of the 4 reasons for developing a church-wide assimilation strategy do you feel is most relevant to your ministry right now? Why?
➋ What is one way you could "sell" this to your leadership?
➌ How much does the illustration of the Father giving an allowance to a child who losses it each week apply to your church?
➍ What are 3 specific steps you could take to get started? What help would you need?
➎ Pray that God will help you and your church see your guests this weekend as He sees them.
