(RNS) The son of the founder of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, who inherited the Pentecostal denomination and led it for nearly a half century, has died at age 96.
The Rev. Rolf K. McPherson, who died on May 21, succeeded his mother, Aimee Semple McPherson, as president of the denomination when she died in 1944. Under his 44 years of leadership, the Foursquare Church expanded into 63 countries, the denomination said.
“Dr. McPherson gave of himself selflessly and faithfully for more than four decades as he carried on the work that his mother had begun,” said the Rev. Jack Hayford, the current president of the denomination. “The blessing that we are currently experiencing is due, in large part, to the work that Dr. McPherson accomplished during his presidency.”
Rolf McPherson also followed his mother into other roles, including president of KFSG, a prominent Los Angeles radio station, and pastor of Angelus Temple, a megachurch that once was the center of his mother’s revival ministries.
The denomination, which claims 8.4 million members in 144 countries, was founded in 1923.
