In my unimpressive opinion, evangelism is not a matter of convincing anyone of anything.
It is not a matter of instilling the "fear of God" in people or the fear of going into eternity in a "lake of fire." It is not a matter of promising people wealth and prosperity and that all their problems will be solved. It is not a matter of showing people how accepting, diverse, or loving we are. It is not attempting to convince people of anything.
It is a matter of one's life being so ordered and formed by the way one lives and understands life within God, that others cannot help but notice and be attracted to that something that emanates from one's life. The locus is the person's life - his/her lived religion - not attempts to prove the faith, prove how successful or wonderful Christians are, or legislate anything. This makes the life of a Christian who desires to be engaged in evangelism much more difficult, but far more honest, sincere, and ultimately life-giving.
Viewing evangelism in this way moves us away from a sense of insecurity and the compulsion to indoctrinate or somehow prove how right we are. It understands evangelism as a natural outgrowth of our intimacy with God, God's transforming power, and our willingness to be among those "of the world."
