Door-to-Door Evangelism​—How Effective?

“Interest in evangelism is exploding in American churches,” says Christianity Today. But what kind of evangelism is being promoted?

Lately, many Protestant churches have been promoting “friendship evangelism,” that is, church members witnessing to their friends, neighbors, and family members. Claiming that this method is far more effective than home visitations on strangers, one church group points to a survey it made of 14,000 church members. “Between 75 percent and 90 percent say they owe their Christian faith to a friend or relative.” Door-to-door witnessing, says the report, is considered by most churches to be ineffective. Furthermore, “the vast majority of Christians will never feel comfortable doing this type of witness.”

But can it really be said that the door-to-door method of preaching is ineffective? The Scriptures point out that early Christians, rather than limiting their preaching to friends and relatives, had marvelous results preaching from village to village and from house to house.​—Luke 8:1; Acts 2:41; 4:4; 5:14, 42; 20:20, 21.

Jehovah’s Witnesses today use the same apostolic methods. British sociologist Bryan Wilson analyzed the growth of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Japan and concluded: “The majority [58.3 percent] of those who have become Witnesses declare that they first had their interest awakened by receiving a house-call from a publisher.” The door-to-door ministry is effective, though it may not be “comfortable” for “the vast majority of Christians.”