George Whitefield
George Whitefield was an influential preacher born in Gloucester, England, in 1714, who played a significant role in the religious landscape of the 18th century. After a challenging childhood marked by the death of his father and a devout mother, Whitefield excelled academically and was later ordained a deacon in the Church of England. He became known for his passionate outdoor preaching style, which attracted large audiences across England and the American colonies.
Whitefield's ministry emphasized the necessity of spiritual regeneration and was characterized by his Calvinist beliefs, particularly his views on predestination, which later led to a rift with fellow preacher John Wesley. Throughout his life, he was a vigorous advocate for orphans, founding the Bethesda Orphanage in Georgia, although his management of the institution faced challenges. His itinerant preaching during the Great Awakening contributed to a surge in religious fervor among diverse Protestant groups.
Despite facing opposition from Anglican clergy and controversies over his views, Whitefield's impact was profound, as he preached to thousands and published numerous sermons and writings. He is remembered not only for his eloquence but also as a figure who bridged denominational divides, earning him recognition as a prominent ecumenical Calvinist. Whitefield passed away in 1770, leaving a legacy that continued to influence American evangelicalism.
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George Whitefield
English religious leader
- Born: December 16, 1714
- Birthplace: Gloucester, England
- Died: September 30, 1770
- Place of death: Newburyport, Massachusetts
One of the greatest Christian preachers, Whitefield, an Anglican Evangelist, proclaimed the gospel in Great Britain and its American colonies. A major figure in the Great Awakening, he traveled thousands of miles, founded an orphanage in Georgia, and helped to organize the Calvinistic Methodist Church in Wales. He often preached forty hours in a week and thereby stimulated a powerful resurgence of interest in Christian projects at home and in America.
Early Life
The son of an innkeeper in Gloucester, England, George Whitefield was but two years old when his father died. Recognizing George’s high intelligence, his mother enrolled him in the school of St. Mary de Crypt, where Whitefield demonstrated a keen memory and impressive ability as a speaker and appeared in several plays while pursuing his studies. His devout mother encouraged him to read the Bible and Thomas à Kempis’s De imitatione Christi (wr. early fifteenth century), both of which he found inspiring.
When the Bell Inn, managed by his mother and stepfather, floundered, Whitefield left school to work in the business, which his mother left after separating from her second husband. George returned to school and in 1732 enrolled at Pembroke College, Oxford, as a servitor, one who performed menial services for affluent students to pay his own expenses.
In 1733, Whitefield met Charles Wesley, who urged him to join the Holy Club of students resolved to practice piety through self-denial while serving the needs of others. While in the company of John Wesley and Charles Wesley, George Whitefield experienced a deep spiritual struggle out of which he emerged a changed man—one who had gained assurance of God’s favor through faith in Christ. The instrumental means of his conversion was his reading of The Life of God in the Soul of Man by Henry Scougal, a devotional classic published in 1677, which John Wesley had given him. After the Wesley brothers left for missionary service in Georgia, Whitefield became leader of the “methodists,” a term critics applied in ridicule to members of the Holy Club. In July, 1736, Whitefield received the bachelor of arts degree.
Life’s Work
About the time of his graduation from Pembroke, George Whitefield was ordained a deacon in the Church of England and began preaching at the chapel in the Tower of London, where he emphasized how urgent it was for sinners to be born anew through the operation of the Holy Spirit, a theme he proclaimed relentlessly throughout his career. After temporary service in several parishes, he resolved to follow the Wesleys to Georgia, and in preparation he raised funds to support Christian work in that colony. His acidic manner of preaching, however, alienated some other clerics, the validity of whose ministries he questioned because they did not emphasize the need for spiritual regeneration.
Whitefield arrived in Georgia in May, 1738, stayed four months, and while there conceived a plan to build an orphanage for which he raised money after returning to England. Despite complaints about Methodist excesses, Bishop Martin Benson ordained Whitefield a minister in 1739, but many churches were closed to him, since he continued to denounce pastors he deemed unfaithful to their vocation. In the face of opposition from the Anglican clergy, Whitefield resorted to preaching outdoors in Kingswood near Bristol, England, where large crowds assembled to hear him. There he collected funds for a school to serve coal miners’ children, and soon he summoned John Wesley to join him. Thereafter, outdoor preaching became a regular Methodist practice.
Although Whitefield and John Wesley were friends and coworkers in the ministry, their relationship became strained over a disagreement about the doctrine of predestination, which Whitefield affirmed but Wesley denied. The two Evangelists published opposing essays on the subject and went their separate ways, although each considered the other a brother in Christ. Whitefield was a prolific author of sermons and tracts, which were published, along with extracts from his journal, as a multivolume account of his ministry called The Querists: Or, An Extract of Sundry Passages Taken Out of Mr. Whitefield’s Printed Sermons, Journals, and Letters (1740). Readers of The Querists sometimes became incensed by his attacks on Anglican clerics, including the bishop of London, who replied in print, accusing him of insubordination. The defiant Evangelist declared the world to be his parish over which no bishop had jurisdiction.
In 1739, Whitefield returned to Georgia to the acclaim of a large throng that met him in Savannah. He named his orphanage Bethesda and continued to appeal to Englishmen to support it. His writings circulated through the American colonies as well as in Great Britain, and he soon received invitations to preach in several colonies, but as in England, Anglican churches often denied him access to their pulpits, while other Protestant assemblies welcomed him, especially those that espoused his Calvinism.
The itinerant ministry of Whitefield in America (1739-1741) occurred at a time of spiritual awakening among Congregational and Presbyterian churches. It was the era of revival preaching through the efforts of Jonathan Edwards, William Tennant and Gilbert Tennant, and others of the Calvinist persuasion that Whitefield proclaimed with fervor. Since denominational structures meant little to him, he moved freely among the churches in the colonies. In Philadelphia, for example, at the invitation of William Tennant, he preached from the steps of the courthouse to an estimated seventy-eight thousand people, Benjamin Franklin among them; Franklin became the major printer of his sermons.
Whitefield returned to England in 1741 and encountered strong opposition from John Wesley, as their theological dispute continued. The pamphlet war between them did not, however, deter either from the energetic pursuit of his respective ministry, and Whitefield soon went to Scotland for the first of fourteen tours. In Scotland he contributed to revivals at Cambuslang and Kilsyth. In Wales, too, he preached widely and helped to establish the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Church. By then he had married Elizabeth James, a widow about a decade older than he. In October, 1743, she gave birth to a son who lived but four months.
George and Elizabeth Whitefield went to America in 1744, working in the south because he faced hostility in the northern colonies. Elizabeth often managed Bethesda while George preached and raised funds to pay debts pertaining to the orphanage. He pleaded for the humane treatment of slaves but endorsed slavery as a legitimate practice, and profits from slave labor helped to fund Bethesda. Whitefield returned to England in 1748, when Salina Hastings, the countess of Huntingdon, invited him to become her chaplain. He ministered to the upper classes and tried to improve relations with the Anglican episcopate. Only modestly successful in this endeavor, he nevertheless was able to solicit support for his orphanage and to build tabernacles in London and Bristol. He returned to America for the last time in 1770, and preached often until he died on September 30, 1770. He was buried in Newburyport, Massachusetts. His wife preceded him in death by two years. Whitefield left his assets and debts for Bethesda to Lady Huntingdon, but the orphanage was soon abandoned and left to decay into ruins.
Significance
George Whitefield was a preacher who was exceptional more for his style and eloquence than for the content of his sermons, although his sermons were always orthodox in doctrine. His ministry elicited acclaim from some, consternation from others. In America he became a supporter of colonial grievances against Britain and so acquired the reputation of a patriot. His concern for orphans led him into action on their behalf, but lack of managerial skill impaired his work of charity and left him encumbered with debts. The number of converts won through his preaching was large, but stormy relations with less-zealous Christians deprived him of support. His eagerness to work with Protestants without regard to denominational connections, nevertheless, qualifies him for recognition as an ecumenical Calvinist.
Bibliography
Cashin, Edward J. Beloved Bethesda: A History of George Whitefield’s Home for Boys, 1740-2000. Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press, 2001. Cashin provides an account of Whitefield’s orphanage, or boys’ home, in Savannah, Georgia.
Chamberlain, A. “The Grand Sower of the Seed: Jonathan Edwards’ Critique of George Whitefield.” New England Quarterly 70 (1997): 368-385. Although Edwards appreciated Whitefield’s fervor and shared his doctrinal persuasion, he had reservations about the Englishman’s method of presentation, especially his appeals to the emotions more than to the intellect.
Dallimore, Arnold. George Whitefield: The Life and Times of the Great Evangelist. 2 vols. Westchester, Ill.: Cornerstone Books, 1979. This is the major biography of Whitefield, written by an Evangelical author who admires him profoundly. It is readable and thorough but somewhat lacking in appropriate criticism.
Mansfield, Stephen. Forgotten Founding Father: The Heroic Legacy of George Whitefield. Nashville, Tenn.: Highland Books/Cumberland House, 2001. Part of the Leaders in Action series. Mansfield examines Whitefield’s legacy as a figure in American history.
Noll, Mark A. The Rise of Evangelicalism: The Age of Edwards, Whitefield, and the Wesleys. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2003. This thorough study puts Whitefield in the context of British and American Christianity and explains his relations with contemporary Evangelists.
Stout, Harry S. The Divine Dramatist: George Whitefield and the Rise of Modern Evangelicalism. Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans, 1991. This controversial interpretation magnifies Whitefield’s role as a young actor and portrays him as a manipulator of audiences by means of his dramatic skills. Mostly by innuendo, Stout impugns the sincerity and character of his subject.
Whitefield, George. George Whitefield’s Journals. 1968. 3d ed. Carlisle, Pa.: Banner of Truth Trust, 1978. A modern, 594-page edition, updated with new material, from Whitefield’s collection of writings, including sermons and tracts.