Aimee Semple McPherson (October 9, 1890 – September 27, 1944), also known as Sister Aimee, was a Canadian-American Los Angeles-based evangelist and media celebrity in the 1920s and 1930s.
McPherson has been noted as a pioneer in the use of modern media, especially radio, and was the second woman to be granted a broadcast license.
She used radio to draw on the growing appeal of popular entertainment in North America and incorporated other forms into her weekly sermons at Angelus Temple.
In her time she was the most publicized Christian evangelist, surpassing Billy Sunday and her other predecessors. Public faith-healing demonstrations conducted by her before large crowds, allegedly healed tens of thousands of people.
After Aimee McPherson died, her son, Rolf McPherson, became the leader of the denomination. Under 44 years of his leadership, the denomination grew from hundreds of churches to several thousand.
Today the Foursquare Church’s most well-known leader is Jack Hayford, pastor of Church on the Way in Van Nuys, California.
