The Least Effective Method of Evangelism

Recently, I was at Oberlin College evangelizing. Over the course of about three hours, I handed out gospel tracts and had several brief interactions with students. Oberlin is an extremely liberal college and town—one that is not particularly favorable to the Christian worldview or the gospel of Jesus Christ. At times, that reality can feel discouraging.

But God.

In His providence, the Lord sent encouragement in the form of two Christian students.

The first student, Seth, stopped by to encourage me for being out there. We talked for a little while before he had to head to class. Later that same day, as I was preparing to wrap things up and call it a day, another Christian student named Max came by and struck up a conversation. Like Seth, Max also expressed encouragement for the outreach.

Beyond their shared faith, these two students had something else in common. Both asked me about evangelism—specifically about methods—and wanted to know what the “best” way to reach fellow students with the gospel of Jesus Christ might be. Each of them expressed a genuine desire to see their peers come to Christ.

At the time, I was standing on a street corner holding two abolitionist signs addressing the evil of abortion, while also handing out gospel tracts to passing students. I shared with them that Christians often differ on evangelistic methods. Some believe certain approaches are more effective than others, and there may be truth to that. However, I explained that what is far more important than debating the best method is recognizing the least effective one.

Some Christians street preach. Some hand out gospel tracts. Some hold signs. Others focus on one-on-one conversations. Many believers use a combination of these methods, while some prefer one over another. None of these approaches are perfect, and none are guaranteed to produce immediate results.

But there is one method that will never work.

Doing nothing.

Saying nothing.
Sharing nothing.
Never speaking the gospel at all.

That is the least effective form of evangelism.

Any method that actually communicates the gospel is far better than silence. I’ve experienced this firsthand. There have been times when I’ve been out street preaching and someone approaches me, claiming to be a Christian, only to tell me that I’m doing evangelism “wrong.” They’ll say that street preaching doesn’t work and only pushes people away. When I ask them how they evangelize, nine times out of ten the answer reveals the real issue: they don’t evangelize at all. Or they believe that simply living a “good Christian life” without ever speaking about Christ is sufficient.

That’s not evangelism.

To be clear, our lives absolutely should be a witness to those around us—but not a silent witness. Scripture tells us that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). The apostle Paul boldly declares in Romans that he is not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God unto salvation.

You cannot live the gospel message in place of speaking it. The gospel must be proclaimed. It must be spoken, shared, handed out in a tract, declared on a sign that says “Jesus Saves,” or preached openly. The specific method matters far less than the fact that the message is verbally communicated.

If we want to be effective in evangelism, we cannot be silent.

Be kind.
Be polite.
Be compassionate.

But above all, use words to share the good news of Jesus Christ.
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All glory be to Christ,
Ricky Gantz