George Whitefield (1714-1770)

George Whitefield was born in 1714 in England. He went to Oxford University in 1732 and joined the 'Holy Club', a group started by bCharles Wesley and led by John Wesley. This group was trying to earn salvation through works. Although they were all intelligent people and were actively seeking God, they failed to understand that salvation is by grace and that alone. The Bible clearly states that man has no part in his own salvation (Ephesians 2: 8-10). The 'good works' come after salvation, not before. People throughout the world are making the same mistake today!

Whitefield was the first of the group to be converted and was ordained in 1736 as a deacon in the Church of England. He was very much a Calvinist.

Whitefield and the Wesleys went to Georgia, America for an evangelic mission. This was a complete failure and Whitefield returned to find himself ostracized by the church because of his views and his association with the Wesleys. He began to hold open-air meetings at Bristol and was soon travelling around the country holding meetings. These were tremendous meetings, Whitefield was a gifted preacher. The Wesleys joined him for these meetings and, having seen how effective they were, they themselves began their itinerant ministries.

During this time, Whitefield went to America and was a significant figure in the Great Awakening, a revival started with the preaching of Jonathan Edwards.

Whitefield clashed with the John Wesley who called him 'a fiend from hell'. In his early writings John Wesley was vehement in his criticism of Whitefield (in later versions after the death of Wesley these comments were removed!). Whitefield made a number of trips to America and in 1748 he became a Methodist chaplain at Huntingdon in England.

Whitefield's evangelical missions drew large crowds and many people were saved. He died at the age of fifty-six in America at Newburyport, Massachusetts where he is buried.

Some estimates have been made that George Whitefield preached to six million people at a time when there was no television or radio. Whatever the merits of these estimates it is clear that Whitefield was an effective preacher and a significant figure in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.