In the fall of 1740, America was abuzz. Revival was sweeping the northern states and Christian fervor was at fever pitch. George Whitefield, the great English evangelist was traveling through the colonies, and his reputation as a powerful preacher and orator had preceded him so that great crowds swelled to hear him preach. Because most churches were closed to him, he chose to preach in the open air just as he had so many times in his native England. On October 16 he stood in the center of the Quaboag Plantation in West Brookfield, Massachusetts with a crowd of at least 500 standing about him and there he preached the gospel of Jesus Christ. As he preached, he stood upon a great rock, known today—appropriately—as Whitefield Rock. And this, Whitefield Rock, is the next of the twenty-five objects through which we are tracing the history of Christianity.
The Great Awakening was an unexpected revival that swept North America in the 1730s and 1740s, a sustained time in which God granted unusual response to the preaching of his Word. This awakening was closely related to similar revivals that occurred in Europe around the same time.
The Great Awakening is usually associated with two men who were to become close friends, but who did not meet one another until after the revival began: Jonathan Edwards, the preacher and theologian, and George Whitefield, the preacher and evangelist. However, the revival was carried along by many other sincere and unknown Christians. The first spark of revival glimmered forth in Edwards’ town of Northampton, Massachusetts. As Edwards preached to his church, he emphasized the importance of a vital, personal faith in Jesus Christ. People heard that word and were transformed. People heard that word and took it with them, believing it, sharing it. Collin Hansen writes, “During the First Great Awakening, God worked through men like Edwards and Whitefield to save thousands of sinners. Local awakenings connected through the itinerant ministry of Whitefield and writing of Edwards dramatically affected colonial America.”
George Whitefield was born in Gloucester, England. He attended Pembroke College, Oxford, where he met John and Charles Wesley and joined their “Holy Club.” However, it was only when he read Henry Scougal’s The Life of God in the Soul of Man and became seriously ill that he was genuinely converted. He immediately became passionate about sharing the gospel with others and was soon ordained an Anglican clergyman.
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