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2 The "Foursquare" Name 3 Church doctrine 4 Status 5 External links 6 References 7 Footnote |
Background
Aimee Semple McPherson (1890-1944), a gifted and controversial female evangelist, founded the Foursquare Gospel Church in 1927. Los Angeles was her center of operations, and the Angelus Temple, seating 5300 people, was opened there in 1923. Her son, Rolf K. McPherson, became the leader of the church after her death in 1944. Together with the Assemblies of God, the Church of God, the Open Bible Standard Churches, the Pentecostal Holiness Church, and others, the Foursquare Church formed the "Pentecostal Fellowship of North America" (reorganized in 1994 as the Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America) in 1948 in Des Moines, Iowa. Jack W. Hayford, founder of The Church on the Way in Van Nuys, California, and Living Way Ministries, is perhaps one of the best-known foursquare ministers in the 21st century.
The "Foursquare" Name
The Foursquare (or four-fold) gospel in based on the idea of Jesus Christ as Savior, Baptizer, Healer, and Coming King. It is the gospel for body, soul, spirit and eternity. McPherson revealed this idea at a revival in Oakland, California in 1922, and claimed it came to her in a vision from God based on Ezekiel's vision as recorded in Ezekiel chapter one. The four faces (a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle) represented Jesus Christ - the man (man of sorrows, Savior), the lion (baptizer with the Holy Ghost and fire), the ox (the Great Burden-bearer, Healer) and the eagle (the Coming King). Others claim that this idea did not originate with McPherson, but was rather only popularized by her.
Church doctrine
The Foursquare Church believes in the Bible as the inspired word of God; the Trinity; the atoning death of Christ for sinners; salvation through the grace of God; the necessity of repentance; the new birth; sanctification; baptism by immersion and the memorial of the Lord's supper as church ordinances; the baptism of the Holy Spirit; divine healing; the imminent return of Jesus Christ; and final judgment.
Status
From the beginning of Angelus Temple to the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, the church had grown to 1844 churches with 218,981 members¹ in the United States in 2000. Worldwide membership is over 3-1/2 million in almost 30,000 churches in 123 countries. Corporate headquarters are maintained in Los Angeles, California. The church in the United States is divided into districts, and local congregations affiliate with the district in their area. A General Supervisor oversees the national office and district supervisors. Glenn C. Burris Jr. currently (2004) serves as General Supervisor. A number of educational institutions are affiliated with the Foursquare Church, such as Life Bible College in San Dimas, California, and Pacific Life Bible College in Surrey, British Columbia, while others not directly affiliated are recommended, such as The King's College and Seminary in Van Nuys, California.
External links
References
Footnote