For Friends, the gospel was not simply a message because they understood by experience Paul’s description of the gospel as “the power of God unto salvation”. Preaching the gospel was Spirit-led, Spirit-filled preaching that awakened people to the Light of Christ within them - to turn them from darkness to light (a phrase from Paul that George Fox often quoted). I would guess that many modern Friends are very uncomfortable with the idea of evangelism, and perhaps for a number of different reasons. The reason I am bringing this up is to contrast it with our attitude towards the political process.
