International Church of the Foursquare Gospel | |
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Jesus Christ the Savior, Baptizer, Healer, Coming King
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Classification | Evangelicalism |
Orientation | Pentecostal |
Leader | Glenn Burris, Jr. |
Associations | Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America |
Region | Worldwide |
Headquarters | Los Angeles, California |
Founder | Aimee Semple McPherson |
Origin | 1923, Los Angeles, California |
Congregations | 60,000 |
Members | 8 million |
Official website | foursquaremissions |
The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel (ICFG), commonly referred to as the Foursquare Church, is a evangelical Pentecostal Christian denomination founded in 1923 by preacher Aimee Semple McPherson. As of 2000, it had a worldwide membership of over 8,000,000, with almost 60,000 churches in 144 countries. The headquarters is in Los Angeles, California, United States.
In 1922, Aimee Semple McPherson (1890-1944), an evangelist known as "Sister Aimee", explains for the first time its definition of the term Foursquare Gospel (theological concept "Full Gospel"). According to chapter 1 of Book of Ezekiel, Ezekiel had a vision of God as revealed to be four different aspects: a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle. It also represents the four aspects of the Department of Christ; Savior, Baptizer with the Holy Spirit, Healer and Soon-coming King. This will be the vision and the name that she will give at Foursquare Church, founded in 1923 to Los Angeles. Los Angeles was her center of operations, and Angelus Temple, seating 5,300 people, was opened in Echo Park in 1923. The attendance has become a megachurch with 10 000 people. McPherson was a flamboyant celebrity in her day, participating in publicity events, such as weekly Sunday parades through the streets of Los Angeles, along with the mayor and movie stars, directly to Angelus Temple. She built the temple, as well as what is now known as Life Pacific College adjacent to it, on the northwest corner of land that she owned in the middle of the city.
McPherson's celebrity status continued after her death, with biopics such as the 1976 Hallmark Hall of Fame drama The Disappearance of Aimee depicting her life, as well as the 2006 independent film Aimee Semple McPherson, which particularly focused on her month-long disappearance in May–June 1926 and the legal controversy that followed.