Did Aimee Semple McPherson Draw Bigger Crowds than F.F. Bosworth?

By Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D.
Author, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind 'Christ the Healer'
Copyright (c) 2019

#FFBosworth
#AimeeSempleMcPherson

Aimee Semple McPherson
(1890 - 1944)

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I have felt for some time that F.F. Bosworth's evangelistic healing campaigns in the 1920s were some of the largest on record at the time, especially in Canada. Bosworth suggested as much in his book, Christ the Healer, where he featured a photo of the audience in his 1924 campaign in Ottawa, Canada. The caption for the photo reads: 

"Largest Crowd Ever Gathered Under One Roof at Ottawa, Canada. A Bosworth Audience at Canadian Capitol where 12,000 sought salvation.

Historian James William Opp believes Aimee Semple McPherson's work in Canada was eclipsed by Bosworth and other American evangelists. In his book, The Lord for the Body: Religion, Medicine, and Protestant Faith Healing in Canada, 1880-1930 (Mcgill-Queens University Press, 2007) Opp suggests her undisputed "prominence" in the United State was not exactly on par with her ministry success in Canada. He explains:

Aimee Semple McPherson was just hitting her stride when she campaigned in Winnipeg, Lethbridge, and Montreal in 1920. She would be the first of a wave of evangelists to tour the nation with the message of divine healing incorporated within the context of an "old-fashioned" revival. Despite her later prominence in the United States, McPherson's Canadian campaigns were surpassed by those of later American evangelists, such as Charles S. Price and F.F. Bosworth. 

Opp notes that the decade of the 1920s was a period in which "tens of thousands of Canadians attended a variety of healing campaigns that filled arenas across the country." 

Interestingly enough, that was also the decade in which Bosworth's ministry saw tremendous growth in terms of citywide healing campaigns, reports and testimonies of healing, publication of books, including his biography, Joybringer Bosworth (1921) and Christ the Healer (1924), and the launch of his magazine, Exploits of Faith.

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Note: My book, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind "Christ the Healer," can be purchased here with a 25% discount. Use the discount code: bosworth25.

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For more information:
Visit the F.F. Bosworth page here. Questions about the research and commentary on F.F. Bosworth may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D., via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com. For updates on F.F. Bosworth history, simply follow this blog or @bosworth_fred and @Roscoebarnes3 on Twitter. #ChristTheHealer #BosworthMatters #BosworthMention