About us

Why "Foursquare"?

Our Name

“Foursquare” is a Biblical term used of the tabernacle in the Book of Exodus, of the Temple of the Lord in Ezekiel 40:47, and of Heaven, as described in the Book of the Revelation. 
 
The term “Foursquare Gospel” was given in the inspiration of revival to the denomination’s founder, Aimee Semple McPherson, during an evangelistic campaign in Oakland, California, in 1922. It represents that which is equally balanced on all sides, solid, reliable and trustworthy.

Our Logo

Our Foursquare logo is designed to identify and  present Jesus Christ, God’s Son, to every person in every culture and nation as:
 

The Savior – “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisment for our peace was upon Him . . .” – Isaiah 53:5 (Isa. 55:7, Titus 2:14, Jn. 3:16, Rom. 10:9,10, Heb. 7:25)

The Baptizer with the Holy Spirit – “For John truly baptizedwith water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit . . . you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” – Acts 1:5,8 (Jn.14:16-17, Acts 2:4, Acts 8:17, Acts 10:44-46, 1 Cor. 3:16)

The Healer – “He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses. . .” – Matthew 8:17 (Mk. 16:17-18, Mt. 9:5-6, Acts 4:29-30)

The Soon-Coming King – “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout . . . the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” – 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (Titus 2:12-13, Mt. 24:36-44, Heb. 9:28, Lk. 19:13, Lk. 12:35-37)

Our Beliefs

Foursquare Churches believe that the best way to fulfill the great commission is by evangelizing and planting culturally relevant, healthy, fruitful, reproducing churches throughout modern day Europe. The overarching spirit of the Foursquare Church around the world is that of a family, rich in relationships.

We seek to cooperate with all Christian Churches in the Body of Christ, in expressing the love of God and the Good News of Jesus Christ as Savior, Healer, Baptizer in the Holy Spirit and Soon Coming King – to all Europeans everywhere. Every man, woman and child has the right to hear of the saving love of Jesus Christ.

Download the Foursquare's "Declaration of faith" PDF

Our Core Values

  • We prioritize joyous worship, honoring the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as we extol the life and love of our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 11:36-12:1-2). 
  • We hold to the creeds asserting Jesus as God’s virgin-born Son–His sinless life, atoning death and literal resurrection providing salvation (Acts 4:12). 
  • We focus a Christ-honoring, grace-based preaching and teaching ministry rooted in the authority of God’s eternal Word, the Holy Bible (2 Timothy 3:16). Church Health and Biblical Balance. 
  • We prioritize a personal and church lifestyle of vital joy and hope as Christ and His kingdom are described in John 10:10, Romans 14:17 and 15:13.
  • We promote creative personal and church ministry that spreads the Gospel meets human need and multiplies life-begetting ministries (Phil. 1:9-11). 
  • We prioritize passion with order in worship, biblical grace with obedience in lifestyle, with liberty, wisdom and charity in all things (1 Corinthians 13:13; 14:40). 
  • We embrace all who love Christ, pursuing our distinct sense of mission and values, while affirming the whole church beyond our ranks (Philippians 2:1-10).
  • We prioritize the apostolic plan for discipleship as in Acts 8:14-17; 19:1-6, calling believers to decisively open to the Holy Spirit’s fullness and fruit. 
  • We acknowledge the distinct and ongoing gift-giving ministry of the Spirit and instruct in how to minister in His power to Christ’s glory (1 Corinthians 12-14). 
  • We pursue faith-filled prayer, intercession and spiritual warfare with Holy Spirit enabled power and discernment as in Ephesians 6:10-20 and 1 Timothy 2:1-6.
  • We prioritize the apostolic convictions in 2 Corinthians 5:14, 15; being constrained by the love of Christ knowing eternal souls are at risk, and commissioned by the grace of God since all who believe may be saved. 
  • We are constant to our founding call to worldwide, interdenominational evangelism, proclaiming to all that Jesus Christ is the Savior, Baptizer with the Holy Spirit, Healer, and Soon-Coming King (Acts 20:27).
  • We prioritize planting and growing local churches as in Acts 9:31 and Ephesians 3:14-19, that believers may be grown, nurtured and equipped for ministry. 
  • We cultivate every-member ministry as in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, Christ’s will being that His church be the living evidence of His love and power to the world. 
  • We honor the Holy Spirit’s call to and giftings of church leaders under Christ’s commission and lordship, irrespective of age, gender or ethnicity (Acts 2:17-18).
  • We prioritize the Gospel of Jesus Christ as God’s power unto salvation for all, begetting works of compassion, justice and human aid (Matthew 5:13-16). 
  • We place high value on the sanctity of human life, of biblical marriage and morality, and we welcome ethnic diversity (Isaiah 56:7; Philippians 2:15-16). 
  • We accept the timeless purpose of God through his ancient people Israel, and reject anti-Semitism and all ethnic discrimination (Romans 11:11-27; Acts 17:26).

In Essentials – Unity | In Non-Essentials – Liberty | In All Things – Charity

Our Goals

The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel is “Dedicated to Interdenominational, Worldwide Evangelism…” Jesus Christ is to be the incarnate Word to this age. The task of the Foursquare Church is to present Him in the language, culture and understanding of every man, woman or child and in every nation.

In fulfillment of our biblical purpose we are called to present Jesus Christ, God’s Son, as ”the Savior, the Healer, the Baptizer with the Holy Spirit and the coming King ” and to establish healthy, culturally relevant, reproducing churches. Therefore, we are dedicated to the development of churches which are infinitely reproducible, making possible the continuous spread of the gospel to those yet unreached.

In addition to its aim of worldwide evangelism, the Foursquare Church seeks to make disciples. We seek to see developed in our members a Spirit-filled, Christ like character, attitude and obedience to Biblical principles, – being his witnesses in the world. When the local church comes together, it offers praise to the Creator/ Savior, celebrates our redemption through grace and communicates the daily mercies of our Lord. The worship pattern of each congregation will be as diverse as its local setting, ethnicity, culture, language, taste in art form and the spiritual development of its members. While adhering to the preeminence of Christ-centered worship in the life of its congregations, the Foursquare Church encourages freedom of form, musically and creatively.

Believing that through His suffering, death and resurrection, Jesus Christ has provided hope for the whole person, Foursquare Churches and their members are encouraged to be active in meeting the social needs within their communities. Such ministries have included social services activities such as food for the needy, emergency aid, care for the suffering, acceptance of the rejected, and responding to the despair of those who have experienced distaster. There have also been counseling and support groups provided to those who have unique needs. The overarching spirit of the Foursquare Church around the world is that of a family, rich in relationships. Above all, the Foursquare Church seeks to maintain Biblical soundness while remaining open to the Holy Spirit in what He is doing in this moment of time to bring forth a fresh birthing of God’s calling within us as a Spirit-filled community, as well as ministry to multitudes of hurting men and women.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19)”, is the commission of Jesus Christ to His Church. And, we have been given gifted His presence, power and authority to fulfill this command. But “discipling of all nations ” becomes practicably realistic as countries develop indigenous church planting movements whose goal is not only to saturate their own country with Good-News baring churches, but who also have a vision to send missionaries to those yet unreached with the gospel. Such pioneer missionaries are certainly needed in many of the countries of Europe. Many have never heard or understood the good news of the gospel.

In addition, God’s goal is that none be lost, and that his Son’s name be exalted and honored among all the peoples of the world. This must equally be our goal. For these reasons Foursquare Europe continues to be ”dedicated unto the cause of interdenominational and worldwide evangelism” and to cooperate with one another as a family of churches, and with the Body of Christ, until disciples are made from every nation, tribe, tongue and peoples in Europe. 

Therefore we are committed to…

  • Planting culturally relevant, healthy, fruitful, reproducible Foursquare Churches;
  • Attracting and training church planters;
  • Developing a network of relationships that build unity and collective vision for brightening the light of Christ in a dark continent;
  • Fostering increased relationships between local and national churches in Europe and in the larger Foursquare family throughout the world.

Our Roots

Aimee Semple McPherson

Aimee WEB

The early 20th century evangelist, Aimee Semple McPherson, was a pioneer of women in Christian ministry. In an interview Billy Graham named her the greatest evangelist of the 20th Century. She was the first woman to receive an FCC radio license and was a pioneer religious broadcaster. Her sermons were the first to incorporate contemporary communications of that day into her preaching of the Gospel. 

She summarized her message into four major points known as “The Foursquare Gospel,” and founded a denomination called The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, dedicated to interdenominational and spirit-filled, world-wide evangelism.

In Europe

Our roots in Europe date back to the 1920’s when the Foursquare Gospel was first preached in Europe by North American missionaries in the nation of Greece. Missionaries returned to Greece in 1952, and in 1975 a work was begun in Spain. Today there are around 30 European nations with Foursquare churches and contacts or works. Since 2001, a Regional Council of indigenous national leaders was formed to strengthen and develop Foursquare works and ministry in Europe.