Nobody knows for sure just how long Jesus' ministry, teaching and travelling throughout Israel, lasted. Some say three years others as little as one. That Christianity grew, after such a brief inception, into the world religion we know to today is testimony to the power of the message Jesus preached. But it is also due to a much simpler and often over-looked fact. He had more than a little help from his friends.

• Helen Bond
• M'Barek El Mamoudi
• Richard Horsley