George Whitefield was born December 16, 1714, at Gloucester, England. His parents were middle-class proprietors of the Bell Inn. His father died when Whitefield was only two. He was educated in Gloucester and later at Pennbroke College, Oxford, where he first met John and Charles Wesley. There he experienced an evangelical conversion. In March 1735, after months of spiritual turmoil, he cast himself upon the mercy of God, trusted Christ and received the forgiveness he had so earnestly sought.
In 1736 Whitefield received his degree and was ordained as an Anglican priest. His first sermon--in his native town of Gloucester--was of such fervor that a complaint was made to the bishop that he had driven 15 people mad. Despite such claims, he spoke to overflowing crowds in churches in Bristol and London. People sought him out at his home to receive spiritual counsel. Many even tried to touch his clothing as he walked the streets.
In 1737, Whitefield accepted an invitation from John and Charles Wesley to go to Georgia where, with the exception of one visit home, he remained until 1741. The visit home in 1739, included his first attempt at open-air preaching. His congregation was a company of coal miners. According to Whitefield's account, "Hundreds and hundreds of them were soon brought under deep convictions, which, as the event proved happily ended in a sound and thorough conversion."
He continued the practice of open-air preaching to the end of his life, regularly delivering up to 20 sermons a week from the time he was 22 until his death at 55. He covered vast distances that included 15 visits to Scotland, two to Ireland and, in those days of long and hazardous voyages, no less than seven journeys to America, where he died shortly after preaching his last sermon.
The association with John Wesley in the early years quickly gave way to differences and even to a bitter feud. Whitefield and Wesley had opposite views about the availability of salvation. Wesley adopting the Arminian interpretation and Whitefield the Calvinistic. As a result the movement was divided.
Whitefield returned to America in 1740 and founded an orphanage in Georgia. He had tremendous sway in New England, which had been prepared though the preaching of Jonathan Edwards. Under his influence the revival spread through several of the colonies and remained in power for a number of years. Historians call this the Great Awakening.
Upon returning to England in 1741 he continued his work, which became a known as the Calvinistic Methodist Association. During his lifetime Whitefield was known as the "leader and founder of Methodism."
In Wales he met and married a widow, 11 years his senior. He also became closely associated with the work of Lady Huntington, and in his later years he opened several of the meetinghouses of her Connexion as well as the theological college at Trevecca in 1768.
Whitefield chose to step down from his leadership among the Methodists for two reasons: he wanted the freedom to devote more time to his ministry in America, and he realized that to continue in his position would mean continued opposition from John Wesley. When urged by others to remain in his position he replied, "Let the name of Whitefield perish, but Christ be glorified! And let me be but the servant of all!"
In the years that followed Whitefield practiced the attitude of servanthood throughout the evangelical movement. He assisted Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Baptists and even worked on behalf of John Wesley to further the kingdom of Christ.
Whitefield lived a very disciplined life. He was up at 4:00 a.m., spent an hour in personal devotions, and then preached at 5:00 a.m. He often preached twice more during the day, besides receiving spiritual seekers, writing letters and traveling. He concluded his day by preaching to whomever might be in his home and retired at about 10:00 p.m. It has been estimated that Whitefield preached more than 30,000 times before his death in 1770.
Many maintain that Whitefield was supreme among the preachers of his day. Others might have been more learned, even more stylish, but none was more eloquent or more moving. No preacher has ever retained his hold on his hearers so entirely as Whitefield did for 34 years.
His theme was the basic evangelical message of man's sinfulness and Christ's salvation. There was a vividness in his sermons that spoke to even the most hardened sinners. His vision of heaven and, more particular, hell was so realistic that listeners sometimes fainted. Furthermore Whitefield's regard for the eternal welfare of the souls of each of his hearers was evident. There is an intimate note in all his messages that displays itself in his earnestness and importunity. "My brethren, I beseech you" is a recurrent expression. Like open-air preachers before him, his work abounds with vivid colloquial phrases and apt, familiar analogies. And none knew better than he how to use questions and exclamations to produce a tense, dramatic atmosphere. He added antithesis, repetition, brevity and assertion to his range. Above all, he was, as contemporary witnesses records, a supreme actor, gifted in voice and gesture.
