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Rolf K.
McPherson, a major figure in the Pentecostal movement
who for 44 years guided the International Church of the
Foursquare Gospel founded by his mother, charismatic
evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, went to his heavenly
home on May 21, 2009 at his Los Feliz home, according to
a church spokesman.
He was 96.After his mother's death in 1944, McPherson
became the leader of the church and the pastor of
Angelus Temple, the domed landmark in Echo Park where
his mother deliveredfire-and-brimstone sermons with
Hollywood pageantry during the 1920s and '30s.
McPherson lacked his mother's flamboyance but brought a
steady hand to the management of the finances and
day-to-day operations of the church, which now claims
8.4 million members in 144 countries.
"His most important legacy was laying the foundation for
the explosive growth of the church in the second half of
the 20th century," said Washington State University
historian Matthew Avery Sutton, who wrote a 2007
biography of McPherson's mother. "He never had his mom's
charisma, energy or excitement, but he was very sharp, a
savvy and brilliant administrator" who guided the
denomination into "the mainstream of American
evangelicalism.
"As president of the church, McPherson oversaw its LIFE
Bible College (now called Life Pacific College) in San
Dimas and radio station KFSG-FM, which his mother
founded in 1924. KFSG was one of the first radio
stations in Los Angeles and was among the oldest
continuously operating Christian radio stations until it
went off the air in 2003.
McPherson was one of two children of the famous
evangelist. He was born in Providence, R.I., on March
23, 1913, two years after his half-sister, Roberta
Semple Salter. His father was Harold S. McPherson, a
businessman who wanted his wife to stay home and take
care of their son and Roberta, but she chafed at the
constraints the role placed on her. They were divorced
after a few years, freeing her to hit the revival
circuit in a stylish sedan she called the "Gospel Car.
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