George Whitefield

 “Let my name be forgotten, let me be trodden under the feet of all men, if Jesus may thereby be glorified. I care not who is uppermost. I know my place, even to be servant of all. “

The “Gospel Rover,” as Mr. Whitefield often called himself, was born in Gloucester, England in 1714. His father died when he was young, so he quit school early to help support his family. His mother encouraged him to return to school, and he eventually did, enrolling at Oxford in 1732.

He met the Wesley brothers there and joined their “Holy Club,” a group dedicated to achieving salvation by doing good works and eliminating sin. For three years he struggled with conviction and his attempt to earn God’s favor.

Finally he came to the realization that Jesus alone could save. “Whenever I go to Oxford,” he wrote just before he died, “I cannot help running to the spot where Jesus Christ revealed Himself to me and gave me the New Birth.” Upon graduation, George Whitefield began preaching in his home church.

His intense preaching did not bring him favor with the established church. He soon was forced to resort to preaching in the fields to anyone who would come to hear him. His early crowds of 200 soon grew to more than 10,000 as his fame spread. According to some estimates, Mr. Whitefield preached to crowds of up to 50,000 people at one time.

Along with the Wesleys, he was instrumental in founding the Methodist Church, although he later broke from them over their Armenian beliefs. He was in great demand on both sides of the Atlantic, crossing the ocean 13 times between England and America.

Mr. Whitefield’s revival meetings in New England in 1740 shook America. Perhaps as many as ten percent of the total population of the colonies was saved during this great out-pouring of God’s Spirit. Honest historians credit this revival with shaping the spirit that led to the American Revolution in 1776.

In failing health, George Whitefield returned to America for the last time in 1770, preaching at open-air meetings in Massachusetts. “If I have not yet finished my course, let me go and speak for Thee once more in the fields,” he prayed before his last sermon. Following the two-hour message, he returned to the home of Rev. Jonathan Parsons where he died the following morning.

* Photo provided by Stephen Ross, www.wholesomewords.org