Rolf McPherson
Encyclopedia
Angelus Temple
Angelus Temple was the central house of worship of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles, California....
and president of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel
The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, commonly referred to as the Foursquare Church, is an evangelical Pentecostal Christian denomination. As of 2000 it had a worldwide membership of over 8,000,000, with almost 60,000 churches in 144 countries. In 2006, membership in the United States...
, serving in that capacity from 1944 to 1988. By his retirement, the denomination had grown from 29,000 members in 410 churches to 1.2 million members in over 19,000 churches located in 63 countries.
Personal background
Dr. Rolf McPherson was born on March 23, 1913 in Providence, Rhode IslandProvidence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
. He was the son of Harold Stewart McPherson and Aimee Semple McPherson
Aimee Semple McPherson
Aimee Semple McPherson , also known as Sister Aimee, was a Canadian-American Los Angeles, California evangelist and media celebrity in the 1920s and 1930s. She founded the Foursquare Church...
, founder of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel
The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, commonly referred to as the Foursquare Church, is an evangelical Pentecostal Christian denomination. As of 2000 it had a worldwide membership of over 8,000,000, with almost 60,000 churches in 144 countries. In 2006, membership in the United States...
. He was the half-brother of Roberta Star Semple
Roberta Semple Salter
Roberta Semple Salter was the daughter of evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson and half-sister to Aimee's other child, Rolf McPherson. Roberta was the original heir to her mother's ministry, which was later taken over by son Rolf. -Early life:Salter was born in Hong Kong, where her mother and father,...
, who was the daughter of Aimee and her first husband, Robert James Semple, who had died one month before the birth of his daughter.
After his mother's death in 1944, he led the denomination she founded for 44 years, retiring in 1988. After retirement, he continued to attend church every week, serving in congregational ministry. He resigned from all church duties in 1997. He died on May 21, 2009, at his home in Los Feliz, California. He was 96 years old.