Why was aimee semple mcpherson important

Aimee Semple McPherson: Everybody’s Sister (Library of Religious Biography | LRB)

One of the most influential and dynamic evangelists of the 20th century, Aimee Semple McPherson (1890–1944) was a complex, controversial figure with a flair for the dramatic. Against the backdrop of the Roaring Twenties, Sister Aimee, as she was widely known, cultivated her ministry, preaching the “old-time religion” and calling for a return to simple biblical Christianity. A religious leader who strongly identified with ordinary folk, McPherson attracted thousands of fiercely loyal followers throughout the United States and Canada.

Edith Blumhofer’s thorough biography is grounded in extensive research and academic scholarship. The book offers unique insights into McPherson’s Canadian and Salvation Army roots and her relationship with Pentecostalism. Significantly, Blumhofer had access to selected minutes of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, a resource not available to previous biographers, and contact with both of McPherson’s children, Roberta S

Aimee Semple McPherson

Canadian-American evangelist and media celebrity (1890–1944)

Aimee Elizabeth Semple McPherson (née Kennedy; October 9, 1890 – September 27, 1944), also known as Sister Aimee or Sister, was a Canadian-born Pentecostalevangelist and media celebrity in the 1920s and 1930s,[1] famous for founding the Foursquare Church. McPherson pioneered the use of broadcast mass media for wider dissemination of both religious services and appeals for donations, using radio to draw in both audience and revenue with the growing appeal of popular entertainment and incorporating stage techniques into her weekly sermons at Angelus Temple, an early megachurch.[2]

In her time, she was the most publicized Protestant evangelist, surpassing Billy Sunday and other predecessors.[3][4] She conducted public faith healing demonstrations involving tens of thousands of participants.[5][6] McPherson's view of the United States as a nation founded and sustained by divine inspiration influenced later pastors.

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Aimee Elizabeth Kennedy was born October 9, 1890 near Ingersoll, Ontario in Canada. Her mother was an orphan whose foster parents were in the Salvation Army. Her father was a Methodist. Her mother dedicated her to God's service when she was a baby. Aimee was a born expositor, and began to speak as early as 13. Unfortunately it wasn't always for God's service. At 15 she was holding debates with local pastors on the validity of evolution versus the bible.

When Aimee was 17, hoping to turn her life around, her father took her to hear a Pentecostal evangelist named Robert Semple. Aimee was struck by the brown-haired blue-eyed Scotch-Irish evangelist. She immediately became a "seeker" in Pentecostal circles and regularly attended their meetings. She felt that God was calling her to "save lost souls", but she did not know how this could be accomplished. In 1908 Semple asked her to marry him and she accepted. They were married on August 12, 1908. God was calling Semple to China, so Aimee felt that this would be the fulfillment

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