Comes from Dan at Ceruleam Sanctum. Dan asks the question, Is the church for believers only? and I think he is right on his conclusion.
The early Church model was to send believers out, beyond the doors of the assembly. They shared Christ out in the streets. When the lost outside responded to the message and became believers, they were brought into the church assembly proper.
Today, though, we have believers bringing the lost into the church assembly with the hopes that the church leaders will convert them.
We see the church as a place to go to hear the Gospel and worship, where evangelism is carried out by inviting people to church. The New Testament sees the gathering of the church as a place for edification, where believers are equipped for the work of ministry so that we can go to the world with the Gospel. This is not splitting hairs but a key to understanding the church.
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