Table of Contents
Table of Contents
TIMELINE----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2
INTRODUCTION--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4
EARLY INFLUENCES--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4
DRAMATIC PREACHING---------------------------------------------------------------------------------5
PLAYING TO THE PRESS---------------------------------------------------------------------------------7
OUTDOOR PREACHING----------------------------------------------------------------------------------7
ORPHANAGE-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8
SLAVERY-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8
THE ITINERANT PREACHER----------------------------------------------------------------------------9
SCOTLAND--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------10
JONATHON AND SARAH EDWARDS----------------------------------------------------------------11
LOVE LIFE---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11
PREACHER TILL THE VERY END--------------------------------------------------------------------13
WHITEFIELD’S SUCCESS-------------------------------------------------------------------------------14
WHITEFIELD’S IMPACT---------------------------------------------------------------------------------14
CONCLUSION----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------15
BIBLIOGRAPHY-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17

Timeline

George Whitefield, 1714-1770
1714 George Whitefield is born in Gloucester, England.1
1726Whitefield attends St. Mary de Crypt grammar school, where he enjoys plays and acting.2
1730 Receives the Lord’s Supper and determines to be more watchful over his thoughts, words, and actions.3
1732 Enrolls at Pembroke College, Oxford University.4
1733 Invited to breakfast by Charles Wesley and introduced to the Holy Club.
1734 Like his Holy Club friends, seeks salvation through severe discipline and good works.5
1735 Preaches his first sermon. Feels call to be a missionary to Georgia.6
1737 Publishes six sermons, while opponents publish against him.7
1738 Spends three months in Georgia.8
1739 Ordained a priest but finds many pulpits are now closed to him. Begins preaching outdoors, meets Ben Franklin.9
1740 In Georgia, selects a site for Bethesda, his orphanage, and preaches at every opportunity.10
1741 Publishes counterattack on Wesley’s attack on his Calvinism.11
1742 Begins five months of ministry in Scotland.12
1744 His 4-month-old son dies of sickness and is buried.13
1745-1748 Whitefield’s third visit to the Colonies.14
1748-1751 Lady Huntingdon appoints Whitefield her chaplain.15
1754-1755 Fifth trip to the Colonies, Receives honorary M.A. from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton).16
1763-1765 Sixth trip to the Colonies.17
1769 Wife, Elizabeth, dies.18
1769-1770 Seventh trip to the Colonies.
1770 Preaches final sermon and dies the following morning. Some 6,000 gather for funeral19

Introduction
George Whitefield was one of the best known religious figures of the 18th century. One of the descriptors for him was “marvel of the age” due to his ability to command mass audiences, totaling in the millions, by his personality alone. Whitefield drew audiences that included blacks and whites, men and women, friends and even enemies. Another title that was given to Whitefield was the “Grand Itinerant”. Despite his fame, Whitefield’s notary did not stand the test of time. Whitefield crossed two continents preaching the Gospel; but did not found a college, seminary, denomination, or movement. In fact he deliberately strived to be a