#Proverbs #7: Purposes Established! http://t.co/8wiBJVNuPy
What is Foursquare?
THE FOURSQUARE GOSPEL:
MISSION:
The Foursquare Gospel Church of Canada is a Christ-centered national movement dedicated to serving people through planting and sustaining healthy local churches. We are the Canadian part of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel (www.foursquare.org) “dedicated unto the cause of inter-denominational and worldwide evangelism.” Quoting from the dedication statement on the cornerstone of Angelus Temple, the first Foursquare church started January 1, 1923.
NAME:
The logo (above) represents our unswerving presentation of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, to every person in every culture and nation as:
- The Saviour: The red colour reminds us of His bloodshed for our salvation and the cross symbolizes the pathway of His redemption of us. We all come to Jesus through receiving His love, by grace we are saved.
- The Healer: The blue colour reminds us of the life-giving water that nourishes our soul, cleans us up from the mess of life and heals our hurts and the cup symbolizes our life that holds His healing. We are all hurt, physically, emotionally or spiritually in life and Jesus came to earth to heal every part of us.
- The Baptizer in the Holy Spirit: The yellow/gold colour reminds us of the worth and dignity He restores to us as we receive the precious Holy Spirit in these fragile lives of ours and the bird (dove) symbolizes His coming from heaven to us. He gives us a valuable purpose and a job to do and we are given everything we need for life and godliness in the gift of the Holy Spirit.
- The Soon Coming King: The royal purple colour reminds us of the kingdom of God that is to be spread throughout the earth. The crown symbolizes Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God.
VISION:
Jesus transforming people across Canada one life at a time, impacting communities through Holy Spirit empowered local churches, led by servant leadership teams.
Result # 1: Transformed Lives - People of all walks of life and cultural backgrounds, touched by and changed by the love and grace of Jesus Christ
Result # 2: Impacted Communities: Healthier families; safer streets; evidenced in lower crime rates; economic stability; more caring society; honest leaders.
Result # 3: Holy Spirit Directed: “From the middle” force of life [that comes with having the Holy Spirit in charge] call, equipping, placing and empowering leaders.
Result #4: Leaders Connected: Equipped, trained, resourced, celebrated, challenged and inspired partners in ministry, supported by servant leadership teams.
Result # 5: Believers’ Gifts Released: Leaders and members in local churches working with mission-focused teams, each person using their gifts, talents and abilities to participate in the great plan that God has for Canada.
Result # 6: Healthy Local Churches: Powerful, influential, vibrant, reproducing, Spirit-filled local churches.
HISTORY:
Our Founder: Aimee Semple McPherson (1890-1944)
The early 20th century evangelist was a pioneer of women in religion. Having experienced a profound religious conversion at age 17, Aimee began preaching across the United States and later, the world. In 1918, she established her base in Los Angeles, California, where in 1923, the 5,300 seat Angelus temple was dedicated and became the center of her revival, healing and benevolent ministries. Her sermons were the first to incorporate the contemporary communications of that day into her preaching of the Gospel. From Angelus Temple she performed and extensive social ministry, providing hot meals for more than 1.5 million people during the Great Depression. She summarized her message into four major points known as “The Foursquare Gospel,” and founded a denomination called The Foursquare Church.
Aimee’s charismatic personality was a God-given gift used to draw people to hear her message. Her sermons were not the usual “fire and brimstone” messages given by contemporary evangelists, but ones which showed the face of a loving God, with continual outstretched arms. It was a message about heaven as a place you wanted to be, and serving Jesus as the only life that offered true fulfilment.
Aimee once wrote: “You don’t need to be an orator. What God wants is plain people with the Good News in their hearts who are willing to go and tell it to others. The love of winning souls for Jesus Christ sets a fire burning in one’s bones. Soul winning is the most important thing in the world. All I have is on the altar for the Lord, and while I have my life and strength, I will put my whole being into the carrying out of this Great Commission.”
From its beginning at Angelus Temple, The Foursquare Church has now grown to include more than 50,000 churches worldwide. There are currently more than 5 million members in 147 countries around the globe. It presently ranks as one of the three or four most distinguished branches of Pentecostalism.
Foursquare Gospel Church of Canada
A graduate of L.I.F.E. Bible College in Los Angeles, Anna D. Britton moved to Vancouver, B.C. in 1927, established L.I.F.E. Bible College of Canada in 1928 and grew a small group of believers into a congregation (Kingsway Foursquare Church) of nearly 1,000. Her vision prompted her to extend the Foursquare Gospel to the three western provinces of Canada over which she served as Supervisor for many years. The first graduating class in 1930 numbered five aspiring preachers, all of whom entered active pioneering ministry.
Other Supervisors of the Western Canada District have been, B.A. McKeown, Clarence Hall, Warren Johnson, Guy Duffield, Charles Baldwin, Harold Wood, Roy Hicks Sr., and John Holland.
Victor Gardner became Supervisor of the Western Canada District in 1974. Eventually, in order to comply with Canadian law, The Western Canada District needed to register all properties in the name of a Canadian Corporation and gain total control of all finances as well. Victor Gardner led the development of the Constitution and Bylaws, the Administrative Manual and oversaw the transfer of all the legal documents so on March 5, 1981, the Foursquare Gospel Church of Canada (FGCC) came into being. Vic and Dorothy Gardner retired in 1992.
Tim Peterson was President from 1992 – 2007. His wife, Laurene, also worked in the National Office of FGCC and together, they oversaw the establishment of a healthy corporate structure and developed National Teams.
Barry Buzza, who planted the largest Foursquare Church in Canada, Northside Church, a two-campus church in the Tri-Cities of B.C. was elected as President on July 1, 2007.
Steve Falkiner, former missionary and President of Foursquare New Zealand, became President on July 1, 2012.
Pacific Life Bible College
The L.I.F.E. (Lighthouse of International Foursquare Evangelism) Bible College of Canada founded by Anna D. Britton in 1928, continued to operate largely out of Kingsway Foursquare Church which moved from Vancouver to Burnaby, BC until 1997. That year, it joined forces Pacific Bible College in Surrey, BC. To get the full story, visit their website at www.pacificlife.edu
VISIT THE FOURSQUARE GOSPEL CHURCH ONLINE:
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8).