The term "evangelize" means to spread the Gospel. The term "witness," in this context, means to share what you have seen or have come to know about Jesus.
I see the different ways that people evangelize and sometimes I think they are doing it right and other times I think they are doing it wrong. It's not really about the result of the person getting saved or not that determines whether or not you witnessed correctly, but how the witness is witnessing. I've compiled a list of bad ways to witness and good ways to witness just based on my own personal experiences, thoughts and of course examples from the Bible.
Bad Ways To Witnessing
1. For example, when someone notices someone doing something immoral and they suddenly go up to that person and say that they are going to hell, that is a really bad way of witnessing. You are not witnessing properly at all because for 1) you are leaving out half of the Gospel message, 2) you are not being loving and 3) you are not being wise. That other person most likely isn't going to get anything good out what you just told them. This is like those people that hold up those signs on the side of the road that say "God doesn't love fags" or something like that. That is horrible because 1) it's not true and 2) you're not telling them the Gospel, 3) it's deragatory, name-calling and 4) no one is going to get anything good out of that.
2) Another type of bad witnessing is involving yourself in the sins of others, such as getting high on drugs or getting drunk, in an attempt to "buddy up" with the unbelievers so that they will like you and want to be like you, the Christian. That is really foolish because 1) you are being a bad influence on them, not a good one, sending them the message that it's alright to do immoral things and 2) they can see right through you, they know that being a Christian means being "goodie-goodie" and if they see you doing these things they will either think you're a hypocrite or just a fool or a drag, they won't have as much respect for you. When Jesus "ate with sinners" he didn't commit their sins, He simply chose to be around them in order to reach out to them. That is the correct way to hang around unbelievers.
3) Trying to force someone to go along with Christianity. Even God doesn't do this. He offers a loving hand. If people reject Him they will go to hell as a natural result of dying in their sins with no savior, but He doesn't force anyone to believe in Him. That is love.
Good Ways To Witness
1) Telling people your "testimony" (story of how you got saved).
2) Showing them the law (10 Commandments) so they can realize their sin and then showing them the Gospel so that they know how to receive forgiveness for their sins.
3) "Street-style" preaching where you stand on the street or go to a mall or store parking lot, for example, and pass out Gospel tracts and talk to people. A lot of "street-style" preachers stand someone and just start raising their voice loud enough for others to hear and they go on with a message that ultimately points towards a need for a savior.
4) Through a story, such as a parable, or art. Revealing the Gospel through artistic expressions. Telling stories to people where the ultimately message is the Gospel.
5) Answering any peoples questions about religion, spiritual issues, life after death, the Bible, etc. etc. that you come across wherever.
6) The kind where you try to build up a relationship. Say you know someone or you get to know someone. You pray for them. You try to be a good influence around them. You might invite them to church. You might have discussions with them about the Christian faith. You drop hints sometimes, but not too often so that you don't come off as pushy. For example, you might give them a Christian book or DVD that you have and tell them how good you think it is or send them a card for their birthday or if they tell you about some difficulty in their life you try to encourage them and say that you will pray for them or you offer them a ride home if they need it. In other words, the unbeliever seeing your Christianity through your good works. Witnessing through your life. At some point this person will become more and more open to the Light until, hopefully, they become open enough for you to deliver the Gospel message.
7) Where people go up to someone and just start talking about random things and then cleverly swerve the conversation into a discussion of spiritual matters. This ultimately can lead to you being able to deliver the Gospel message.
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