According to the wider hope/inclusive framework, why does the church still exist?

In the wider hope/inclusivist theological framework, very simply put, people who have not heard the Gospel are not necessarily lost and destined for hell. Given that understanding, why does the Church exist and why has it lasted as long as it has? For example, one commonly stated purpose of the church is to evangelize the lost. But is that actually necessary in a wider hope/inclusive framework? ([see related question](https://christianity.stackexchange.com/q/41420/21576)) If not, then what is the purpose? Is the purpose that God is waiting to bring a certain number of people to salvation? That doesn't seem to follow either, since he could have simply saved more people before the coming of Christ, or done a mass conversion the day of resurrection and then immediately enter into the next age. Given the amount of suffering that has gone on for the last 2,000 years, it seems like God would need a good reason to allow the church age to continue the way it has. But I don't see such a reason. What do wider hope/inclusive theologians say about this? To them, what is the purpose of the church and why has the church age lasted so long?