Evangelist George Whitefield toured Benjamin Franklin’s Philadelphia in 1739 following a stint in Ireland. As in Whitefield’s native England, Philadelphia ministers barred the famed preacher from using their pulpits. So Whitefield took his message about the new birth directly to the masses, preaching in fields and town squares—wherever an audience gathered. 

Revival despite differences

The huge, diverse crowds that turned out to hear Whitefield impressed Franklin. The future founding father of the United States never actually believed what Whitefield preached, that sinners must be born again by believing in Jesus Christ, who died on the cross and resurrected from the dead. He marveled at how the crowds agreed with what Whitefield preached, “notwithstanding his common abuse of them, by assuring them they were naturally half beasts and half devils.” He might not have approved of the message about man’s depravity, but Franklin couldn’t deny the evidence of revival that accompanied Whitefield’s visit.  

Impressive results, lasting friendship

“It was wonderful to see the change soon made in the manners of our inhabitants,” Franklin said of awakened Philadelphia. “From being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seem’d as if all the world were growing religious, so that one could not walk thro’ the town in an evening without hearing psalms sung in different families of every street.”

Whitefield and Franklin shared a genuine friendship until the evangelist died in 1770. When critics accused Whitefield of deception and dishonesty, Franklin often came to the defense of the man whose sermons and journals he published. He even put some of his vaunted scientific acumen to use in calculating that more than 30,000 people could hear Whitefield preaching at one time, due to the preacher’s loud and clear voice.

Reaching thousands

Philadelphia responded en masse to Whitefield’s gospel preaching, but even bigger crowds awaited him in Boston. Many ministers there welcomed him with open arms in September 1740. Three days after he arrived, Whitefield addressed some 15,000 on Boston Common, an impressive number for one of the largest colonial cities. His farewell sermon in Boston — pop. 17,000 — attracted an even larger crowd of 20,000.

Whitefield and Edwards, kindred spirits

Preaching before these throngs excited Whitefield, but he also looked forward to a face-to-face meeting with a kindred spirit he’d known only by distance. Whitefield wrote Jonathan Edwards to see if he could visit the scene of the famous Northampton, Massachusetts, revival from 1734 and 1735. He stayed with the Edwards family, who were accustomed to hosting visitors who wanted to learn from Jonathan, colonial America’s greatest theologian and a strong advocate of revival. 

During the First Great Awakening, God worked through men like Edwards and Whitefield to save thousands of sinners.

Both men were deeply affected by the meeting. Edwards began to preach more frequently in surrounding towns and with more dramatic flair, exemplified in his famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” delivered at Enfield, Connecticut, on July 8, 1741. Whitefield learned from Edwards, who cautioned him not to be so hasty to judge fellow pastors as unconverted, a common practice during the First Great Awakening.  

A fresh hearing of the Gospel

Each man also owed the other a debt of gratitude in his personal life. After Edwards invited Whitefield to discuss spiritual matters with four of his daughters, he observed a change in their lives. The unmarried Whitefield, for his part, enjoyed spending time with the large family. Jonathan’s wife, Sarah, particularly impressed Whitefield. “Mrs. Edwards is adorned with a meek and quiet spirit; she talked solidly of the things of God, and seemed to be such a helpmeet for her husband.” Later Whitefield prayed that God “would be pleased to send me a daughter of Abraham to be my wife.” 

Revival brings unity

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. As he so often does in sending revival, God granted evangelical leaders unity of message and purpose so the good news of Jesus Christ found fresh hearing through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Collin Hansen is the co-author with John Woodbridge of A God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories That Stretch and Stir.