An Historic Overview Of Las Vegas Foursquare Churches

By Peter Hughes


While it is important to understand the beliefs of a church, it is also important to know the history. When it comes to the Las Vegas Foursquare Churches and related congregations, history begins as early as 1922 when the first church of the kind was founded in Los Angeles, California.

The church is based on evangelical Pentecostal denominations. The original denomination was founded in 1923 by Preacher Aimee Semple McPherson. As recently as the early 2000s, the membership had grown to over 8 million in a number of different countries. In total, there are over 60 thousand churches in one hundred and forty four countries around the world.

Known as "Sister Aimee, " the preacher defined the term Foursquare as related to a vision experienced by Ezekiel, for whom the Bible book by the same name is titled. For, it is reported that when Ezekiel saw God, it was a four part image being a lion, an ox, a man and an eagle. As such, the church is a Full Gospel church believing literally in the Old and New Testament books of the Bible.

The preacher's celebrity status extended well beyond her death. In fact, the Hall of Fame drama "The Disappearance Of Aimee, " depicts the life and times of the evangelical preacher. The film relates to the month long disappearance of Aimee which took place in 1926 as well as the controversy which followed the disappearance. While the controversy was active for quite some time, it eventually faded along with the preacher's passing.

Once McPherson passed, Rolf K. McPherson, the preacher's son became President and leader of the denomination. A position, the son held for forty-four years. After which, the Pentecostal Fellowship Of North America, was founded in 1948 in Des Moines, Iowa. The Foursquare Gospel Church then became aligned with the Assemblies of God, Pentecostal Holiness and a number of other like-minded congregations in the United States.

Some 46 years later, the Pentecostal/Charismatic churches of North America took position of the original church. After which, the first African-American Church of God In Christ was accepted into the fold. While the church was still somewhat controversial, this acceptance led to the desegregation of others within a few years.

The Angelus temple, which was built by McPherson and dedicated in January of 1923, still stands. The building and temple sits opposite Echo Park near Los Angeles, California. Whereas, there have been several interim pastors and presidents since McPhersons death. As such, the church and membership have undergone several changes since that time.

As a result of Aimee's work and other pastors and congregants, Las Vegas now has multiple Foursquare congregations around the city. As part of the larger congregation, most of these churches welcome members of associated churches as well as visitors to attend services whenever an individual is moved to do so. As the church is an associated member of congregations, representatives of the church attend the International Gathering Of Believers, which is a conference held in different locations each year.




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