No one’s ever made a disciple out of an unconnected person.
And right now, most of your guests are slipping quietly out the back door.
We’ll help you find and fix the real reason that keeps people from staying, serving, and growing at your church.
No one’s ever made a disciple out of an unconnected person.
And right now, most of your guests are slipping quietly out the back door.
We’ll help you find and fix the real reason that keeps people from staying, serving, and growing at your church.
Guests are showing up every week. Most of them won’t stick.
Without real friends or a clear path to get involved, they vanish — quietly, and for good.
I’ve led in churches where the front door was wide open…
but the back door was open wide.
We told ourselves we had a volunteer problem.
Or a giving problem… Or a discipleship problem…
We didn’t.
We had an assimilation problem.
If the Church is a body, every ministry is a necessary organ.
Assimilation isn’t another organ in the Body—
it’s the circulation system.
It brings new blood to every organ.
Improve circulation… every organ thrives.
Without it, every part of the body suffers.
(You know… how your kids team’s hair is on fire every Sunday)
Intentional assimilation isn’t a “nice to have.”
It’s the invisible system that gives life to everything else.
When you build it right, everything changes:
Increased Attendance
Keep the people you’re already reaching
Increased Momentum
Align your team around one clear strategy
Increased Unity
Get new and long-time people rowing in the same direction
Increased Giving
Connected people become invested disciples
We’ve been where you are.
Running on empty, trying to keep guests from disappearing, wearing three hats at once.
My name is Greg Curtis.
I’m the founder of Climbing the Assimilayas and the Director of First Steps & Content Development at Eastside Christian Church.
I stumbled into an assimilation framework when Eastside became the 2nd fastest growing church in the US.
Nobody was more shocked than me when that simple system started connecting 1 in 4 guests into serving members, and I’ve been teaching it to churches around the world ever since.
And I’m Tommy Carreras.
I’m Greg’s Lead Sherpa for Climbing the Assimilayas, and previously was the Adult Ministry Pastor at Mission Church in Ventura CA.
I inherited assimilation at a church plant on top of two other roles (translation: no bandwidth). I had no time, no plan, and no idea what was working.
Greg’s framework gave me a clear path, and the results reshaped the culture of our church. Now I work alongside Greg helping churches build assimilation systems that stick.
So… what’s with the “Sherpas” thing?
Every church says they’re friendly. What they really mean is: “we’re friendly… to each other.”
But for a guest, showing up isn’t a coast. It’s a CLIMB.
And nobody should climb alone.
That’s why every guest deserves a Sherpa.
Someone to guide them all the way to the summit of full connection with God and others.
That’s the heart of Climbing the Assimilayas: we train you to be the kind of church where every guest has a Sherpa.
Also, full disclosure: the “Assimilayas” pun started as a dad joke from Greg over a decade ago.
And it stuck. 🧗♂️😅
Imagine your church 6 months from now.
Guests sticking. Volunteers multiplying. Giving growing.
Your team has clarity, and you can finally breathe.
That’s the church you long to lead. And the path is actually clear.
Start with the Assimilation Starter Kit
These are the issues pastors spend months trying to fix…
without realizing they share the same root cause:
“We can’t get enough volunteers.”
“Giving is down.”
“Discipleship’s flatlined.”
“We’re not connecting new people.”
“We’re not growing.”
In 10 minutes, I’ll show you how they all trace back to one thing: assimilation.
You’ll get:
🎥 10-Minute On-Demand Training
The invisible thread running through your church’s challenges.📄 The 63-Point Assimilation Checklist
See exactly what’s missing and where to start.📨 Weekly Sherpa Insights
Practical, bite-sized tools and encouragement to keep you climbing.
No fluff. No pressure.
And hopefully no more seasonal begging for volunteers.
Just real help for what you’re facing right now.
If you want more volunteers, more giving, and more growth — without adding new programs — start here.
And when you’re ready…
Join the Sherpa Tribe.
Once you’ve checked out the Starter Kit, you can consider joining the Sherpa Tribe Membership — our flagship program for building your assimilation system with real ongoing support.
Our goal is to give you the confidence, resources, and accountability you need to level up your assimilation system throughout the year.
No more treading water or dreaming about progress.
✅
1-Month
Action Plans
✅
Weekly Huddles
✅
Community Support
Actions Plans aren’t “courses.”
They’re actionable assimilation upgrades that you can actually pull off implementing in a month.
They’re designed for progress you can see in the places that matter —one at a time.
Your One Place
Your One Program
Volunteer Placement
Group Placement
Serving as Discipleship
Metrics that Matter
Wildfire Recruitment Challenge
Healthy Process
Sherpa Leadership
Pre-Service Huddles
And plenty more
But good ideas on their own don’t usually cut it…
That’s why we have
Weekly Sherpa Huddles— live calls where we…
Troubleshoot what’s not working for you
Share what’s working in other churches
Answer your specific questions
Prioritize your next Action Plan
Follow up on your progress
Not webinars. Not lectures.
Just the clearest, quickest path toward a healthy, thriving assimilation strategy that your entire team loves.
Ready to Climb?
Join the Tribe. Connect More Guests. Don’t climb alone.
Not ready to climb yet?
Go exploring instead.
Read some practical articles about guest connection, volunteer culture, and effective assimilation.
You can’t disciple people who never get connected.
You’re doing all the right things, but they
Without connection, guests slip out the back door quietly — and for good.
With it, they serve, grow, and multiply.
So you try every shortcut.
That last volunteer announcement didn’t solve your kids team crisis.
There are more butts in seats than last year, but giving hasn’t tracked.
You see new faces every Sunday… but never the next.
Everyone has another “fix”:
“Launch a discipleship pathway.”
“Do a church-wide campaign.”
“Add a membership class.”
“Double down on biblical teaching.”
Each helps for a season. But without a clear trail, they don’t add up to lasting discipleship.
It’s like someone handed you all the gear to climb Everest… but never taught you how to use it.
You’ve got the pieces.
They’re just not working together.