Some say, including many young pastors today, that we can do evangelism by making friends first. That's an error in the Gospel. And here's the fix:
We can evangelize in friendship, not by friendship. The distinction is crucial. For we do not make friends for the sake of evangelism. We make friends because we truly want to make friends, it is otherwise, dishonest.
Making friends is not a means of evangelism. It is not even a means of building trust for evangelism as it's already disingenuous to begin with.
In a genuine friendship, we can make time for the Gospel. But the Gospel should be irrespective of friendship.
A Gospel should be done in friendship. However, a Gospel that is credited to a trust or friendship is a corrupted one.
Nothing, not our character, but the preaching of the Word is the only true means of the Gospel. Everything else is a disingenuous manipulation.