fresh & practical ideas for your journey to the summit

Why Assimilation?

Small Group Placement

Greg Curtis 9/23/24 Greg Curtis 9/23/24

The Need for Speed (Part Two)

Like climbing Everest, the lack of appropriate speed can create a cold or even hostile environment for guests. I'll share 2 things to know about a 1-wk One Program, 2 reasons to rethink your first ask, and 8 things I'm learning and recommending right now.

Greg Curtis 8/4/24 Greg Curtis 8/4/24

The Need for Speed (Part One)

Whether it’s going online the moment Taylor Swift tickets go on sale or camping out at an electronics store before Black Friday kicks in… we live in a world where being too slow to buy reserved seats for a movie can determine whether you can go or not.

It shouldn’t surprise us that there is a need to act quickly when it comes to important aspects of life and ministry as well.

In other words, there is a need for speed.

Tommy Carreras 5/1/24 Tommy Carreras 5/1/24

Our Churches Need Walls and Gates

There’s a real tension between a strong church culture and healthy assimilation. You see, a strong church culture is a double-edged sword — and if you don’t understand both edges, there’s a real danger.

Greg Curtis 3/18/24 Greg Curtis 3/18/24

The only 2 things to concern yourself with this Easter

This Easter, the only thing that matters is getting people connected to God and each other. In a guest’s journey, your efforts as a Sherpa to lead them there should be focused and unencumbered. Here are the only two things you need to be focused on.

Tommy Carreras 2/19/24 Tommy Carreras 2/19/24

Transform Data into Discipleship [Guest Post]

Gut feelings and random stories might help us evaluate our ministries, but it’s data that must guide us. And while it’s one thing to gather data… the real question is how we’re using it to make informed, strategic, and personal decisions.

Find out how to transform data into discipleship with this guest post and video interview with Ronee de Leon.

Greg Curtis 1/30/24 Greg Curtis 1/30/24

The value of knowing what to expect

Everybody needs a Sherpa when we enter the unfamiliar. It is extremely valuable to know what to expect when you step into something new. Here are a few simple steps you can take to ensure your guests know what to expect.

Tommy Carreras 1/30/24 Tommy Carreras 1/30/24

How to avoid burning out your volunteers [with Jason Young]

All our efforts to assimilate people into our church families can be undercut by an all-too-common problem: burnout.

Watch our conversation with ministry consultant and good friend Jason Young, as we discuss how the systems we create (or don’t) make all the difference.

Greg Curtis 1/10/24 Greg Curtis 1/10/24

The easiest way to retain (and disciple) volunteers

10-15 minutes a week can help you recruit, retain, and develop volunteers more than nearly anything else you do regularly.

Here’s how to start ASAP.

Greg Curtis 12/18/23 Greg Curtis 12/18/23

Christmas Devotional for you (& your team)

Stay connected with Jesus during this intense ministry season, and help your team do the same using this Christmas prayer experience.

Tommy Carreras 11/7/23 Tommy Carreras 11/7/23

4 Sneaky Things Preventing Guests from Visiting Your Church [Guest Post]

No matter how welcoming your church may feel on a Sunday morning, there are a few key digital factors that might be keeping people from ever making there in the first place.

Greg Curtis 10/30/23 Greg Curtis 10/30/23

The Lazy River Effect on your church’s engagement pathway

Your guests are experiencing your church like a lazy river — not like a backyard pool. And believe it or not, the difference will make or break their experience.

Greg Curtis 10/4/23 Greg Curtis 10/4/23

Sailing the Spiritual Leadership Seas

The skills needed to be a great pastor are not the same skills needed to be a great leader. And more than likely you were left on your own to figure out how to lead people effectively.

Helping people reach the summit of full connection with God and others requires both sets of skills - that’s why we asked our friend Steve Curran (retired Navy chief, former Pastor, and current Leadership Coach) to give us some insight on developing both.

Tommy Carreras 8/2/23 Tommy Carreras 8/2/23

How to avoid burning out your volunteers [with Jason Young]

All our efforts to assimilate people into our church families can be undercut by an all-too-common problem: burnout.

Watch our conversation with ministry consultant and good friend Jason Young, as we discuss how the systems we create (or don’t) make all the difference.

Greg Curtis 7/29/23 Greg Curtis 7/29/23

Volunteers are evaporating: here are 4 fixes

Churches everywhere are in a drought when it comes to volunteers. The post-COVID mentality of church involvement has altered just about everything when it comes to serving. Here are three things that are helping in my context that could really help you as well.

Tommy Carreras 7/27/23 Tommy Carreras 7/27/23

3 Things to STOP Saying to Connect More Guests (+ a few honorable mentions)

I’ve re-examined my “default” language time and time again and consistently found phrases and words that I use “because I always have” — instead of “because they WORK.”

Let’s replace ineffective jargon with compelling messages that effectively drive our target audience toward meaningful action 👍

Greg Curtis 6/28/23 Greg Curtis 6/28/23

You'll connect more people if you plant one of these (hint: not a church)

I have been contemplating a radical thought that could change how you and I do church much less how we connect people. Inspired by the far away island of Iona Scotland, read on to find a powerful way of reaching and engaging others.

Greg Curtis 6/5/23 Greg Curtis 6/5/23

What to do when things don't go as expected [Lessons from Italy, Pt. 3/3]

Traveling in Italy isn’t always peaceful and easy, especially when you’ve checked out of your Airbnb and dragged your luggage to the train station only to find our that your train has been cancelled due to a railroad strike. Here’s what I learned and what I make of it as Sherpa Leaders for our churches now:

Greg Curtis 6/1/23 Greg Curtis 6/1/23

Four moments of PURE hospitality to inspire your teams [Lessons from Italy, Pt. 2/3]

When was the last time you were “wowed” when you went somewhere new? When it happens to you, you never forget it. While I was in Italy, I experienced something like that multiple times. I want to share four of them here that not only blew me away, but have some obvious application to how we serve guests at our churches.

Tommy Carreras 5/31/23 Tommy Carreras 5/31/23

Totally visible. Completely inaccessible. [Lessons from somewhere in TN 🤷🏻‍♂️]

I was driving along through this rather lovely small town in Tennessee, with picturesque forested mountains all around it, I looked to my left and noticed this architectural beauty. Either this is modern art, and I am just dense… or there’s something important missing, something that could explain why you are missing out on connecting many guests who come on to your church campus.

Greg Curtis 5/30/23 Greg Curtis 5/30/23

3 lessons for Guest Services I learned from our Airbnb hosts in Italy [Lessons from Italy, Pt. 1/3]

Here are 3 powerful things to do with your guests that I learned from our Airbnb hosts on Italy. These 3 things not only made the trip for us, but made us want to return to the same Airbnbs on our next trip (the same feeling we all want the guests at our church to feel when they visit for the first time).

Ready to speed up your progress?

Is it time for you to take building (or rebuilding) your Assimilation System seriously with the CTA Video Course (especially before your next big weekend)?

Do you need one-on-one help with one of our results-driven coaching packages? (we’ll join you in the weeds and do the work with you)

Or are you ready for total staff-wide alignment — the fastest move you can make toward strong walls and open gates? Then Base Camp is for you.

What about a full audit of the walls and gates that you are (or maybe aren’t) presenting to your guests every Sunday with a Secret Sunday Guest Review?