Mark my words: What’s the point of small groups?

Years ago, I was hosting a youth ministry conversation at an event in England, with a panel of leading voices in British youth ministry. I described a handful of different approaches to youth ministry and asked the panel to respond. I remember very clearly Pete Ward, a godfather of British youth ministry, sighing and saying: “There are really only two kinds of youth ministry: inside-out youth ministries and outside-in youth ministries.” He meant simply that there were those more interested in discipleship and those more passionate about evangelism.