AMen, I agree with almost everything you say, but I want to push you on it a little bit, too—and maybe you, too, Kgoad, about the role of contact evangelism.  Here’s the question that comes to mind:  Would you encourage someone who’s doing contact evangelism to seriously consider changing their evangelistic strategy?
 
Now let me go ahead and answer my own question.  I think I would.  And one of the reasons is AMen’s statement that contact evangelism is more useful for the evangelist than for the hearer.  I wasn’t sure whether you meant that as a reason for or against CE, but it seems to me that’s a bad thing.  It is thrilling and exhilarating to screw up the courage to witness to a perfect stranger, but if that’s not the best way to do evangelism in the first place, then that feeling of empowerment is, well, less valuable, isn’t it?  Besides, I think it’s even more thrilling, exhilarating, and empowering to see a genuine friend become a Christian as a result of your consistent witness.
 
Another reason is that in my experience with CE (and it’s not insignificant), I think there’s a tendency to focus more on getting the gospel said than on getting the gospel heard.  I don’t mean to say that’s true of everyone who does and loves CE, but in my experience it’s been generally true—the point is to get the Gospel out, because God’s word will not return to Him void.  You lead them through a full Gospel presentation, press for a decision, and then “give it to God,” trusting that seeds have planted.  And then you count yourself faithful because the words of the Gospel have fallen from your lips, whether the person really heard them or not.  Well, okay.  But doesn’t it make more sense to have some genuine friendship established first with the person?  (BTW, I think it takes varying amounts of time to do that.  Maybe 5 minutes with some folks, maybe a month with other people.)  That way, real lines of communication are open, and so the person is much more likely to hear what you have to say as genuine love and concern, and not as a sales pitch.
 
A couple of other minor points:  When Aldrich says CE is “legitimate” because “many have found Christ through this approach,” that strikes me as a weak argument.  People have found Christ through all kinds of approaches, but that doesn’t by itself make those approaches right or good.  As for his third point, I just don’t buy it.  For one thing, the focus is again on the evangelist instead of on the listener.  And what does he mean by saying that CE allows a “higher percentage” of believers to meet non-Christians?  If they really sat down and thought about it, my guess is most Christians know plenty of non-Christians.  It’s just a matter of being intentionally Christian in those relationships.
 
Finally, I can agree that some places are better venues for CE than others.  But I think I would argue that in any setting, there is a better evangelistic strategy than CE.  The beach, honestly, strikes me as no different from a shopping mall.  People are not there to engage in an exchange of ideas, and if you walk up to someone on a beach, it’s most likely going to be seen as an intrusion.  A college campus is different, yes.  But I’d say that even there, there are better strategies.  Get involved in some not-specifically-Christian groups, for example.  Pick out a social action group and join it.  Join a community service group.  Get involved in student government.  Colleges are full of those types of organizations, and that will allow you to really get to know people so you can share the gospel with them.
 

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