How did the Catholic Church find members?

Answer 1

The question of how the Catholic Church recruited members, in its earliest years or later, is bound with the history of that church.

Probably it's best to refer to some of the literature on the subject. The links below feature brief factual data which might help answer the question, as well as providing other links which should prove useful.

Answer 2

The exact same way that it did before the reformation, through the grace of God. Christianity is basically a missionary religion, to believe in Christ means that you want to share the JOY that comes from knowing Christ and spread it. For the first three centuries, Christianity was a totally persecuted religion, neither the Jews nor the Romans were willing to tolerate the Christians, and yet, thousands of Jews became Christians, and later, the entire Roman Empire became Christian. Since then, (and actually before then) the Church has know a constant stream of heresies which all come from the Evil One trying to separate Christians from the love of Christ. The protestant heresy was just one of the latest ones, and although it did terrible damage in removing all countries from the sacraments, the Church, nevertheless, has survived and flourished. When it comes right down to it, Christianity only flounders when it is not persecuted. When people think that joining the Church is the easy thing to do, then Christianity usually dies as the vast majority of the people who were brought up as members of the Church, not having to fight and suffer for their faith, let their faith slide away. Ireland is a prime example, Catholicism flourished there for centuries when it was illegal, when the Irish Catholic couldn't vote, couldn't own land, etc. Catholicism flourished. They made Catholicism legal, and the law of the land, and what to they end up with? Child abuse, divorce, and legalized abortion, in other words, no Christianity. When the protestant revolutionaries came along, Catholicism flourished, many great saints were called for by God, the Church grew by leaps and bounds, new religious Orders were started and old ones grew. Now that Catholicism is legal everywhere, people in their apathy, can't even find the time to go to confession.