Jim Jones

===Peace Mission Movement===
[[File:Father Divine, 1938 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|[[Father Divine]] was a major influence on Jones's ministry.|alt=Father Divine, a middle-aged African-American man.]]

Through the Latter Rain movement, Jones became aware of [[Father Divine]], an African American spiritual leader of the [[International Peace Mission movement]] who was often derided by Pentecostal ministers for his claims to divinity. In 1956, Jones made his first visit to investigate [[Father Divine]]'s Peace Mission in Philadelphia.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|pp=58–59}} Jones was careful to explain that his visit to the Peace Mission was so he could "give an authentic, unbiased, and objective statement" about its activities to his fellow Pentecostal ministers.{{sfn|Guinn|2017|p=89}}

Divine served as another important influence on the development of Jones's ministry. While publicly disavowing many of Father Divine's teachings, Jones actually began to promote Divine's teachings on communal living and gradually implemented many of the outreach practices he witnessed at the Peace Mission, including setting up a soup kitchen and providing free groceries and clothing to people in need.{{sfn|Guinn|2017|pp=89, 102, 181}}

Jones made a second visit to Father Divine in 1958 to learn more about his practices.{{sfn|Guinn|2017|pp=85–89}} Jones bragged to his congregation that he would like to be the successor of Father Divine and made many comparisons between their two ministries. Jones began progressively implementing the disciplinary practices he learned from Father Divine which increasingly took control over the lives of members of Peoples Temple.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|pp=58–59}}{{sfn|Guinn|2017|p=89}}