He was America’s first celebrity, our first cultural hero. George Whitefield captivated the ears of almost every colonist during his American tenure as the “Grand Itinerant.” His ministry sparked the Great Awakening. His preaching was electrifying and extemporaneous. Despite ill health constantly plaguing him, Whitefield spoke more sermons and reached more listeners than any man before him. This passionate man’s life and impact are chronicled for you to read in this issue of Christian History & Biography.
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“‘He makes less of the doctrines than our American preachers generally do and aims more at affecting the heart. He is a born orator.’” (source)
“in 1739–40, generated such response that later scholars dubbed it a ‘Great Awakening” (source)
“Despite his outspoken plea to legalize slavery in Georgia, and his employment of slaves at the orphan house, he increasingly sought out audiences of slaves and wrote on their behalf. Historian Gary B. Nash dates ‘the advent of black Christianity’ in Philadelphia to Whitefield’s first preaching tour. Perhaps a thousand slaves heard Whitefield’s sermons in Philadelphia, often in private supplemental meetings.” (source)
“Works! works! A man gets to heaven by works! I would as soon think of climbing to the moon on a rope of sand.’ ’ The exhortation would be Whitefield’s final public words. The following morning he died.” (source)
“an itinerant preacher to urban areas throughout the Anglo-American world” (source)