page_title: Angelus Temple
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Angelus Temple / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Worship service at Angelus Temple during 14-hour Holy Ghost service led by Aimee Semple McPherson, Los Angeles, Calif., 1942 (main file).
context_page_description: Angelus Temple is a Pentecostal megachurch of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles, California, United States. The senior pastor is Matthew Barnett. The attendance is 8,975 persons.
context_section_description: The church was founded in 1923 by Aimee Semple McPherson. She chose Los Angeles as the location of the Temple after receiving a vision of the California dream, "a little home in Los Angeles," as she prayed beside her ill daughter, Roberta. When McPherson found the lot near Echo Lake, she paused silently and then said, "This is the place God would have us build." 
  McPherson hired Brook Hawkins from Winter Construction Company, the architect of the Culver Hotel, the Grauman's Metropolitan Theatre and the Pasadena Playhouse.
  The Angelus Temple building, seating 5,300 people, was opened in Echo Park in 1923. On opening day, McPherson declared, "Today is the happiest day of my entire life. I can hardly believe that this great temple has been built for me!" She managed to raise $250,000 from wealthy followers to finance the construction. The temple is considered to be the first megachurch built in the United States, and its 125-foot-wide dome was the largest in North America. Attendance in McPherson's day reached as much as 10,000 people.
  According to church records, Angelus Temple received 40 million visitors within the first seven years. At first, McPherson preached every service, often in a dramatic scene she put together to attract audiences.
  In 1972, the temple was renovated with a $500,000 budget.
  In November 2001, Matthew Barnett became the senior pastor.
  In 2015, the weekly attendance is 8,975 persons.
caption: Congregation in 1942
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