George Whitefield

Born on December 16, 1714, in Gloucester, England, Whitefield was educated first by his mother and then at St. Mary de Crypt School and Pembroke College, Oxford, which he entered on November 7, 1732. His association with Charles Wesley led to his participation with Oxford Methodists, and he became the group's leader in 1735, after Charles and John Wesley departed for America. In 1736 Whitefield was ordained deacon of the Anglican Church and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree. He spent the next year preaching in England and collecting funds for Georgia. The Wesleys had invited him to join them in Georgia, which he did in May 1738. Four months later Whitefield returned to England in order to raise money for the establishment of an orphanage near Savannah, and to secure priest's orders, which he received in January 1739. Because of his irregular preaching methods, he found many churches closed to him, so he turned to open-air preaching.