Christians who were persecuted in Jerusalem spread the word of God everywhere they went.  Paul who died around 64 A.D. was mostly responsible for spreading the Word of God throughout the Roman Empire.

Christians were still different from the Jews and Gentiles.  Christians did not worship idols, and they preached that Jesus was the Messiah, unlike the Jews.  The Jews thought that the Messiah would be someone who would save them from the Romans.  So many wouldn’t accept Jesus as the Messiah.  Christians would not serve as soldiers; Jesus taught them to love their enemies.  During the times of peace, Christians spread the gospel and strengthened the church.  

Christians where spread out throughout the Roman Empire.   The Church was considered a universal church, and therefore it was called the "Catholic" or universal church.   

During 200 to 300 A.D. Christians wrote their ideas about Christianity down.  The Christian Church had to decide which ideas they could accept as being the inspired Word of God.  By 300 A.D. the New Testament was complete. 

In 313 A.D. Constantine became the Emperor of Roman.  Constantine made a stop to the persecution of Christians and made Christianity the official religion of the empire. Everyone within the Empire was now known as a Christian, whether they they accepted Christ as their Savior or not.

Because Rome was considered the epicenter of the Church, the Pope or the bishop at Rome became the most powerful leader.  The church grew and expanded, becoming bigger and more powerful.

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