Stephanie Caro has been involved in ministry to children, youth, and adults in the local church (both large and small) since…a long time ago. Her humorous, straightforward style keeps her busy presenting and coaching at conferences, training events, camps, mission trips, retreats, churches, etc. She is now Senior Consultant for Ministry Architects, which allows her to help churches assess, vision, and formulate their ministry game plans.
Her books, Thriving Youth Ministry in Smaller Churches and 99 Thoughts for the Smaller Church Youth Worker, were published by Group. Her book, Smaller Church Youth Ministry: No Staff, No Money, No Problem, was published by United Methodist Publishing House. Her next book, Ten Solutions for Smaller Churches, comes out soon. Stephanie is also a contributing author to many ministry printed and digital resources. Stephanie and her husband, Steve, live in Katy, TX. Their 7 children are all grown!
It’s a tough road to walk as a children’s or youth worker when the church you’re serving is dragging you backwards into days gone by. “We used to have #100 kids every Sunday!” “We took two buses on every choir tour!” “This church grew because of all the youth that used to come!” Comments like…
It’s May and Spring has sprung! Flowers are pushing up through the earth, the snow has melted, and school is out soon. So, we’re all thinking about planning for the fall, right? Of course not! Many of us in ministry are doing good to keep up with the now; we’ve barely crossed the t’s and…
A VBS Gift When planning your Vacation Bible School, be sure to map out what the weeks following the big event can look like, too. This part of the VBS puzzle is easy to leave off the priorities list, but it holds so much potential, when planned intentionally. Like a speeding train you couldn’t stop…
Oh the drama trauma! Gossip, parking lot conversations, and flying texts – it never seems to stop. All a part of working with high schoolers, you say? No, high school drama I can take. It’s why we were hired, after all. The person I’m talking about is the dreaded dramatist of doom: the toxic volunteer….
“So Stephanie, exactly what happens at youth group?” I’d spent almost a year with the questioner, teaching her and 50 others in a small church cohort. And this question comes up now with just a month to go? Yikes! I was frustrated, but not at her. At myself! I had made some big ol’ leaping…