Settling in Los Angeles,
Aimee founded the International Church of the
Foursquare Gospel and the Angeles Temple was
dedicated in 1923. She became the first woman to
receive a licence to operate a radio station, and
programmes from the Temple brought the gospel to
thousands. (On a visit to Britain in 1928 she met the
inventor, Marconi, and told him that God had raised
him up to enable the masses to hear the gospel.)
Editor’s
note: Aimee Semple McPherson will be remembered as
one of the greatest women evangelists of our time.
Much like Kathryn Kuhlman she would find herself in
several disputes that didn’t agree with church
leaders of her day but the testimony of her work is
still fascinating.
In one
meeting in a Los Angeles, California, crusade it was
recorded that ushers with garbage cans and shovels
had to go through her tent to shovel the cancerous
growths that had been left on the ground after scores
of healings.
McPherson
was also recognized as the first person to have a
Christian Radio station in the United States of
America as she built a radio station at the Angeles
Temple in Los Angeles, California.
By David
Littlewood - Remnant History Editor
With a flair for
the dramatic which appealed to the movie capital of
America in the glamorous 'roaring twenties', Aimee
Semple McPherson provided the best show in town. And
with her emphasis on divine healing -- many
outstanding miracles were reported under her ministry
-- it wasn't surprising that she drew the crowds.
People queued for
hours hoping for admission to the 5,300-seater
Angeles Temple where her illustrated sermons held
audiences spellbound. From relatively simple
beginnings, such as when she dressed as Little Bo
Peep (seeking lost sheep), they grew to spectacular
productions involving the use of elaborate sets and
full orchestras. Having once been stopped by the
police for speeding, she appeared in the Temple on a
motorbike dressed in a police uniform, warning her
hearers to stop speeding down the road to hell! And
on a night she announced a new illustrated sermon,
the city provided additional trolley cars and police
to control traffic.
Aimee Semple
McPherson was undoubtedly the most prominent woman
leader pentecostalism has produced. A strikingly
beautiful woman, she was a colourful and, at times,
controversial figure who won the hearts of a whole
generation of American Christians.
Essentially
pentecostal, preaching the 'Four Square Gospel' of
Jesus as Saviour, Healer, Baptiser, and Coming King,
she nevertheless appealed to Christians across the
board. At a time when pentecostalism was in danger of
becoming narrow and separatist, Aimee used the
popular idioms of the day to communicate the gospel
and, in an era devoted to vaudeville, caught the
public imagination. She was way ahead of her time and
also made extensive use of writing and broadcasting.
Born Aimee
Elizabeth Kennedy on a small farm near Ingersoll,
Ontario, Canada, in 1890, she was nurtured in the
Christian faith by her mother Minnie (at that time a
Salvationist) and came to a personal knowledge of
Christ at 18 through pentecostal evangelist Robert
Semple. After receiving the baptism in the Spirit,
Aimee married Robert and the young couple set about
pioneering in Canada and the USA.
Determined to
serve as 'faith' missionaries in China, the Semples
reached Hong Kong in June 1910 but within a few weeks
Robert died of malaria, leaving Aimee widowed with a
newborn baby at the age of 20.
Recovering from
the shock, she returned to New York where she met and
married aspiring evangelist Harold McPherson. They
toured together in their 'Gospel Car' holding
evangelistic campaigns. Harold acted as the advance
man while Aimee followed him up with her preaching --
and her striking presence, wonderful powers of
communication and emphasis on healing drew the
crowds. In 1917 she launched 'The Bridal Call', a
monthly magazine in which she wrote many articles
expounding the essence of her teaching.
Unfortunately
Aimee's success strained her marriage beyond
redemption. Harold seemed unable to accept the fact
that his wife's ministry far exceeded his own and
left Aimee to pursue an (unsuccessful) evangelistic
career of his own. For her part it appears that Aimee
put her own call well before her duties as a wife and
the couple were divorced in 1921.
Dedicated,
talented and energetic, and with a burning desire to
see the lost won for Christ, Aimee toured America.
Known simply as 'Sister' to her many followers, she
showed not only formidable oratory in the pulpit but
a deep compassion for people in all walks of life.
She would go anywhere -- nightclubs, theatres, dance
halls, jails and even brothels -- to tell people of
the Saviour. There was no pleading, no fire and
brimstone, no criticising -- just a warm-hearted
welcome from a woman who cared. Believing that people
who most needed the gospel were not likely to be
found in church, she visited red-light districts
where she hugged, cried and prayed with the women.
Settling in Los
Angeles, Aimee founded the International Church of
the Foursquare Gospel and the Angeles Temple was
dedicated in 1923. She became the first woman to
receive a licence to operate a radio station, and
programmes from the Temple brought the gospel to
thousands. (On a visit to Britain in 1928 she met the
inventor Marconi and told him that God had raised him
up to enable the masses to hear the gospel.) Seeing
the need for training, she established the Lighthouse
for International Foursquare Evangelism (LIFE) Bible
College and also invested in foreign missions. But
her later years were dogged by controversy. Her
mysterious disappearance, believed drowned, in 1926,
gave rise to speculation of an affair with a former
employee. But in fact she had been kidnapped in
Mexico and such was the relief at having her back
that 50,000 people lined the streets to welcome her
on her return to Los Angeles.
Nevertheless
Aimee and her mother were charged with perjury and
ridiculed from pulpit to press. Ultimately the
charges were dropped and the district attorney who
instigated the case was himself sent to prison for
corruption.
A nervous
breakdown in 1930 may have precipitated a disastrous
marriage to David L. Hutton in 1931 which alienated
some of her contemporaries. But her tremendous
resilience prevailed and during the depression she
met the physical needs of over 1.5 million people
regardless of race, creed or colour. A journalist
sent to investigate relief efforts reported, amidst
much corruption among charitable organisations,
Aimee's compassion for the needy: "I saw her
feeding, encouraging and giving hope, faith and
strength to the poor as they jammed the Temple...and
I saw her insulting those who had folding money into
parting with it for their destitute brothers. She had
sick women on the floor of her home and old men in
her garage."
By the time of
her death in 1944, Angeles Temple had over 400 branch
churches (with some 22,000 members) and 200 mission
stations abroad. Her son Rolf McPherson took over the
leadership of ICFG and today the denomination has
over 25,000 churches in 74 countries with a total of
1,700,000 members. Such is the legacy of this
remarkable woman who liked to be known as
'Everybody's Sister'.
