Collection 103 Ephemera of Aimee Semple McPherson, 1921-1946
| Billy Graham Center Archives



Baptism
Baptism - Sermons.
Belief and doubt
Belief and doubt - Sermons.
Bible
Bible - Inspiration.
Bible - Prophecies.
Bible - Sermons.
Bible.
Bible. - Sermons.
Christian education
Christian education - United States.
Christian giving
Christian giving - Sermons.
Christian leadership.
Christian life
Christian life - Sermons.
Christmas sermons.
Church.
Church. - Sermons.
Church and social problems
Church and social problems - United States.
Church and state
Church and state - United States.
Church growth
Church growth - United States.
City missions
City missions - Los Angeles.
Conversion
Conversion - Sermons.
Creation.
Creation. - Sermons.
Easter
Easter - Sermons.
Eschatology
Eschatology - Sermons.
Evangelistic invitations.
Evangelistic sermons.
Evangelistic work
Evangelistic work - Los Angeles.
Evangelistic work - Oakland.
Evangelistic work - San Antonio.
Evangelistic work - United States.
Faith
Faith - Sermons.
Fundamentalism
Fundamentalism - United States.
Glossolalia.
Great Commission (Bible)
Healers
Healers - United States.
Heaven
Heaven - Sermons.
Hell
Hell - Sermons.
Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit - Sermons.
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel.
Journalism, Religious
Journalism, Religious - United States.
Liberalism (Religion)
Liberalism (Religion) - United States.
Lord's Supper
Lord's Supper - Sermons.
Los Angeles (Calif.)
Marriage.
Mass media in religion
Mass media in religion - United States.
McPherson, Aimee Semple,
McPherson, Aimee Semple, - Sermons.
Mellennialism
Mellennialism - Sermons.
Missions
Missions - Sermons.
Mother's Day
Mother's Day - Sermons.
Music - United States.
Music publishing
Music publishing - United States.
New Year sermons
Patriotism
Patriotism - Sermons.
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism - United States.
Prayer
Prayer - Sermons.
Radio in religion
Radio in religion - United States.
Repentance
Repentance - Sermons.
Salvation
Salvation - Sermons.
Second Advent
Second Advent - Sermons.
Sermons, American.
Sex role
Sex role - Sermons.
Sex role - United States.
Spiritual healing.
Spiritual healing. - Sermons.
Storytelling
Storytelling - United States.
Women
Women - Religious life.
Women clergy
Women clergy - United States.
Worship (Christian)

Materials in this collection were received by the Billy Graham Center Archives in April, September, October, and November of 1979, January and February of 1980, and August of 1984.
Accession 79-41, 79-104, 79-118, 79-122, 79-122, 79-127, 79-130, 79-134, 80-3, 80-19, 80-31, 84-102, 84-116 2/29/80
Mary Ann Buffington
S. Kouns
8/22/84, revised
R. Shuster
J. Nasgowitz
1/17/90, revised
L. Beloz
Revised 11/10/98
Robert Shuster
Accessions: 80-150, 87-20
July 30, 2002, Updated
Robert Shuster
The following items have been given to the Evangelism & Missions Collection
Bridal Call
Vol. I, No. 8-12; January-May 1918
Vol. II, No. 1-12; June-December 1918; January-May 1919
Vol. III, No. 4-5, 7-8, 10-12; September-October, December 1919, January, March-May 1920
Vol. IV, No. 1-12; June-December 1920, January-May 1921
Vol. V, No. 1-7, 9-12; June-December 1921, February-May 1922
Vol. VI, No. 2, 4-12; July, September-December 1922, January-May, 1923
Vol. VII, No. 1-8; June-December 1923, January 1924.
Pisgah
Vol. XI, No. 9; April 9, 1918
Word and Work
Vol. XXXI, No. 31; September 8, 1917
Vol. XL, No. 24; 30-33; August 10, September 28, October-December 1918
Vol. XLI, No. 1-2, 4, 7, 9; January-February, April, July, September 1919
Sermon transcripts, sermon notes, audio tape recordings of sermons, films, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, video tape, and evangelistic campaign literature related to Aimee Semple McPherson's ministry as an evangelist, radio speaker, public figure and founder of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. Most of the materials in this collection are available from the BGC Archives only on microfilm.
Note: Physically, the Archives only has three boxes of documents, boxes 1, 25, and 26. Twenty-three boxes of material were loaned to the Billy Graham Center Archives by the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. After most of them were filmed, they were returned to the ICFG. So the Archives only has the microfilm of materials in boxes 2 through 24. box 1 consists of material the Archives acquired from other sources. boxes 25 and 26 consists of duplicates of some materials in boxes 2,3, 8-12 which the Church gave to the Archives.
Paper Records
Arrangement: Alphabetical/ chronological
Date Range: 1920-55, 1970-1973
Volume: 1.15 Cubic Feet (The Archives has most of the paper records only on microfilm)
boxes: 1, 25, 26
Geographic coverage: United States
Type of documents: Sermons, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, publicity manual, posters and other ephemera from evangelistic campaigns
Subjects: Life and ministry of Aimee Semple Mc Pherson, Rolf Mc Pherson, the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, sermons on a variety of basic Christian doctrines and aspects of the Christian life, evolution
Notes: The bulk of the paper records (most of which the Archives has only as microfilm copies) consists of Sister Mc Pherson's sermon notes (folders 2-2 through 4-28, 5-14 through 6-20) and sermon transcripts. There are also notes for sermons by other, usually unidentified, preachers from after her death. The notes are arranged chronologically, the transcripts by subject. In many cases for important subjects there are a whole series of sermons on the same topic, covering a period of many years. The materials in boxes 25 and 26 are all items for which there were one or more copies, so when the documents were returned to the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel after microfilming, the Church permitted the Archives to have one set of copies.
Exceptional items: A few manuscript items are available in paper form. These are all in boxes 1, 25, and 26. Folders 1-1 and 1-2 contain stationery and posters from a Mc Pherson crusade in Oakland, California. Folder 1-3 contains a program with summaries of two of her sermons. Folder 1-4 contains assorted newspaper and magazine clippings about Mc Pherson's ministry dating from May, 1921, until September, 1946. A program from a play, Regem Adorate, written by the evangelist may be found in Folder 1-5. Folder 25-1 contains a manual for publicity for a debate between Sister Mc Pherson and Charles Lee Smith of the American Association for the Advancement of Atheism over the proposition, "There is no God." Folder 25-2 contains a notebook with newspaper clippings from the celebration of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel's golden anniversary in 1973. Folder 2-1 contains a transcript of a debate over evolution.
Among the sermon notes and sermon transcripts are talks Mc Pherson and others gave at the church's training school (L.I.F.E.) on evangelism and other topics (folders 10-22 to 10-26).
There are some sermons and/or clippings by or about other Foursquare evangelists, including La Doona Dalrymple (folder 24-3), Lorna Mc Pherson (folder 13-1), Rolf Mc Pherson (son and successor of Aimee Semple Mc Pherson, folders 13-2 through 13-15), and Gladys De Lancey Smith (folder 5-8 to 5-11).
Audio/Video Materials
Arrangement: Chronological
Date Range: Date not known for most items, although most of the audio recordings of her sermons were probably made within five or six years of her death.
Volume: 24 audio recordings, 2 films, 4 phonograph records, 1 video
Geographic coverage: United States
Type of documents: Recordings of sermons, performance of hymns, news reel
Subjects: Christian doctrine, Christian life, hymns, life and ministry of Aimee Semple Mc Pherson
Notes: The series is composed largely of audio tapes containing messages and songs by Aimee Semple Mc Pherson. Some of the songs were written by Mc Pherson and sung by others (see T 1). Many of the tapes were sermons by the evangelist purchased from the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel (see T 2-T 20). Two films from the National Archives provide a very brief scene from a news reel. of Mc Pherson leading a parade in downtown Los Angeles. Phonograph records are among the items relating to Mc Pherson's ministry. They include songs of Aimee Mc Pherson sung by others (see P 2 and P 3). Phonograph P 4 is a sermon by the evangelist. The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel procured P 1, which is the life story of "Sister Aimee."
The video tape in the collection is an autobiographical narrative by Sister Mc Pherson, illustrated by pictures drawn many years after her death.