How effective is apologetics in evangelism in your opinion?

Very effective. There are quite a few members here at CAF who came into or back to the faith mainly from apologetics interactions with some of us. (one dear brother embarrasses me often by claiming that I carried him across the Tiber on my back. )

Evangelism isn't the same as apologetics. It's more like apologetics is a vital part of evangelism since by definition apologetics is explaining the Catholic faith and I can't imagine any of us fulfilling Our Lord's commission in Matthew 28:19-20 without it. [19] Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age."

Emphasis above is mine of course, but isn't teaching explaining? First one has to know the faith in order to effectively share it with others and part of that catechesis is apologetic in nature.

Why was I a bit embarrassed? Because I know that it was not me but the Holy Spirit that accomplished it. (See Luke 17:10)

I'm not sure I believe in "cold calls" per se. If you look at most of the conversions in the New Testament you see Our Lord and the Apostles personally interacting with people wherever they are, (i.e. the apostles mending their nets, sitting at a tax collector's booth, drawing water from a well, sitting in a tree in order to see Jesus, and even crying out to Him begging for mercy) so, though I will often carry and leave Catholic Tracts with folks I meet, I generally prefer to follow the advice of Father John McCloskey who says that Friendship is the Key to the Evangelization of Men. Having done street evangelism about 40+ years ago as a "Jesus Freak" and seeing the approach of many n-Cs who "witnessed" on the street, I came to prefer getting to know people in order to share the faith with them.


How effective is the Catechism in evangelism/apologetics?

Someone said that they were disappointed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church because it didn't go far enough in depth but I'll have to disagree with you about that since the footnotes can and do lead to ever deepening studies.

I am pretty sure that the Catechism is designed to be a compromise between concise information and brevity (and I think it cuts it pretty close on the brevity part. Look at the difference between it and the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church). The catechism is not intended for evangelism anyway, but general instruction of Catholics.

The fact is that the study of our most holy faith is a lifetime personal project.