Persecution Breeds Evangelism?

As a part of my role as Director of Evangelism, I am working on a strategy/evaluation for to measure the evangelistic health of a church. My goal is to have an evaluation tool to use to help churches develop an evangelistic strategy and passion. I am using a number of resources from Thom Rainer's Effective Evangelistic Churches to defining characteristics of the Great Awakenings. Also, I have been studying through the Book of Acts. All resources seem to point in the same direction. Here is the list of areas for evaluation and strategy that I have come up with:

1. Prayer- (Acts 1:12-14)

2. Teaching/Preaching- (Acts 2:14-41)

3. Passionate Leadership- (Acts 4 and 5)

4. Emphasis on Missions- (Acts 1:8; Acts 8:1-4)

5. Community Focused- (Acts 2:45-47; 4:32-37)

6. Use of Small Groups- (Acts 5:42)

7. Intentional Discipleship- (throughout Acts)

My question is: does persecution play a role in effective evangelism? Throughout Acts, the Church seemed to become bolder through increased persecution. Throughout church history, evangelistic growth seems to be coupled with persecution. Even in the Awakenings, there was a sense of societal persecution. As I read of churches in Africa, Korea, China, and various Muslim countries where Christians are persecuted, there still seems to be an evangelistic fervor unlike here in the United States. Some may argue that they are persecuted because of their evangelism, but are they persecuted because of their evangelism or are they evangelistic because of their persecution?

I cannot escape the thought that persecution breeds evangelism. If one is willing to face persecution and die for their faith, then sharing the Gospel is not difficult. Is it possible that the decline in personal evangelism in the United States correlates with the lack of persecution or at least the willingness to endure persecution? We have become safe. Sure, we treat mockery and gossip as equivalent to persecution, but have we become too safe in our faith?

I am not sure what this means for us or how it affects our churches in the United States. However, it does challenge me to think (or re-think) my own passion for evangelism and obedience to share the Gospel. If I lived in a country where believers are truly persecuted, would it embolden me to share the Gospel all the more or cause me to remain silent?