Misconceptions

• Evangelism is the process of spreading the teachings of Jesus and the Christian faith, but it does not involve converting them. A conversion would require a person to give up goods or services in the name of Christianity, including going to church and practicing other religious observances. This is called proselytism. It is important to make this distinction, because evangelism is much more accepted than proselytism. This is because it is a means of spreading information, not trying to force practices of a religion onto people.
  
  

Significance

• Evangelism is one of the most important practices in Christianity. According to the New Testament, before Jesus died he asked his disciples to spread knowledge of the religion to all the nations of the world. As one of his last commands, it has a special importance to those who practice the Christian faith. Spreading knowledge of the teaching of Christianity in any way is something that Christians strive to do and are urged to do, which makes it such a significant part of their culture.
  
  

Types

• Evangelism occurs generally in three different ways. The first is the most common, which is neighborly evangelism. The Christian individual or family will try to spread knowledge of the religion to their neighbors and friends, but it will not go beyond that. Evangelists preach on a larger scale, and in modern days may have their own radio or television show to reach a larger audience. Missionaries work to spread evangelism to other countries or developing nations. However, many missionaries also build churches and offer prayer services, which fall under the category of proselytism.
  
  

Effects

• The simplest effect that evangelism has is simply making more people aware of the teachings of Christianity. The person who hears the information given to them by an evangelist chooses what to do with that information, but they are still nonetheless more knowledgeable of Christianity in the process. Evangelism also is the fire that ignites conversion in many people, and even in nations of people. This generally occurs in missionary evangelism and has been subject to scrutiny because it is considered to be a form of imperialism to some.
  
  

Potential

• As technology and globalization continue to increase and allow people to reach other people much easier, evangelism has the potential to increase as well. Since the invention of the radio and television, evangelism has taken hold of technology to reach more people. This created the infamous televangelist. As the Internet grows, evangelism has spread onto the Web. Future technological innovations involving communications will no doubt see evangelism latching on.