After Jesus walked the earth, the Christian church grew from several
hundred followers of Jesus to a sizable percentage of the population of the
Roman empire... in less than 300 years. In this class we'll examine the
historic and demographic factors that allowed the church to grow. We'll
look at who led the church in the generations following the apostles. We'll
explore the theology and worship of the early church. We’ll also learn
about the history of the New Testament and the nature of the persecution of
early Christians (which leads us to ask: why did anyone become a Christian
in the first three centuries anyway?)