Most people view the local church as a soul winning station instead of a soul building station. Let us look at it this way. What if a person gets accepted into medical school but receives no further training because all the medical school cares about is getting more and more people accepted into their medical program. The person going to school needs to receive the best training possible so that he might be able treat people properly and save lives.
Yes, we should rejoice at every lost soul that comes to the local church and receives Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. But salvation is only the beginning of a life-long process of growing and maturing to be more like Christ. 2 Peter 3:18 -2 Corinthians 3:18
But according to to Ephesians 4:12 the primary purpose of the local church is to build up the believers in the most holy faith and to equip them for the work of the ministry. That ministry is to be done outside of the church as we go about our life every day. We use every opportunity to share the gospel with those God puts in our path.
Mark 16:15 Jesus did not say go into all the world and invite everyone to come to church but he did say go into all the world and preach the gospel to everyone. We bring the gospel to the lost. Pastor Shirley