Aimee Semple McPherson

Life

McPherson was born on a farm near Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada. Her mother was active in the Salvation Army, and she grew up under its influence. Around 1907 she experienced conversion (turning from sin to faith) at a meeting led by the evangelist Robert Semple and embraced Pentecostalism. She married Semple the following year, in 1908.

The couple went to China as missionaries, but in 1910 Semple died of malaria and dysentery in Hong Kong. About a month after her husband's death, McPherson gave birth to a daughter, Roberta, in Hong Kong, and in 1911 she returned to the United States. In 1912 she married Harold McPherson, with whom she had a son, Rolf; they divorced in 1921. In 1931 she married David Hutton, whom she divorced in 1934.

Beginning around 1916, she worked as an itinerant evangelist, holding meetings in many places, and in 1918 she settled in Los Angeles. She died in Oakland in 1944 of an accidental overdose of sleeping pills. Her son Rolf subsequently carried on her ministry.

Ministry and Accomplishments

McPherson built the 5,000-seat Angelus Temple in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles, which became the center of her ministry. Sources differ on the year of its founding, giving either 1923 or 1927. The year 1927 is generally cited as the year the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel was formally established as a denomination.

The name "Foursquare" derived from a vision McPherson had of a living creature with four faces. She explained that the vision symbolized four roles of Christ: Savior, Baptizer with the Holy Spirit, Healer, and Coming King. Her meetings placed strong emphasis on divine healing (the healing of illness by the power of God), speaking in tongues, and adult baptism. Her services were also known for preaching accompanied by bands, large choirs, and theatrical staging.

McPherson was one of the earliest radio preachers. She made vigorous use of mass media, advertising her meetings in the entertainment sections of newspapers, dropping leaflets from airplanes, and entering floats in the Rose Parade.

Influence on the Korean Church

A direct connection between McPherson and the Korean church is difficult to confirm from widely available sources. The Foursquare Church is known to have entered Korea, but the mainstream of Korean Pentecostalism belongs to the Korea Assemblies of God tradition.

Because of their similar structure, the four Foursquare emphases are sometimes compared with the Fourfold Gospel (regeneration, sanctification, divine healing, and the Second Coming) of the Korean Holiness Church. However, the Korean Holiness Church predates the Foursquare Church, so its Fourfold Gospel did not originate with McPherson. The two formulations also differ in that the Holiness Church places "sanctification" where the Foursquare Church places "baptism with the Holy Spirit."

Assessment

Supporters commend her for founding and leading a denomination as a woman. They also regard her as a pioneer in the use of mass media for evangelism. Denominations differ, however, in how they view women's preaching and leadership, a question connected to the broader debate over women's ordination.

Critics argue that her meetings were so theatrical that they bordered on entertainment. In 1926 McPherson disappeared for a time and, upon her return, claimed to have been kidnapped. The claim provoked great controversy, and some encyclopedias describe the episode as a staged kidnapping. Allegations of financial impropriety were also raised, but none were proven.