No one has ever made a disciple out of an unconnected person.
And yet most churches do not have a clear pathway that makes connection possible.
Let’s fix the system that helps your guests stay, serve, and thrive.
Guests are showing up.
Most of them won’t stick.
They love the music.
They track with the message.
They feel a glimmer of hope.
But 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…
and 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.
The Church is a body.
Every ministry is a necessary organ.
Assimilation is not 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.
This 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.
I’m the founder of Climbing the Assimilayas and the tor of First Steps & Content Development at Eastside Christian Church.
I stumbled into assimilation when Eastside became the 2nd fastest growing church in the US — and guests were slipping away faster than they arrived. The system I built connected 1 in 4 guests into serving members, and I’ve been teaching it to churches around the world ever since.
My name is Greg Curtis.
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.
