George Whitefield Books

George Whitefield, born in Gloucester, England in 1714, had a troubled childhood, one not focused on religion. He attended the Free Grammar School until he was 15, where he was noted for his memory and elocution. Likely because of his mother’s poverty, he seems to have dropped out of school to work at his mother’s inn until she closed it. As a young adult, he was converted to Christ and became a devoted Christian. He was admitted to the ministry at age 22. He obtained a bachelor of arts degree at Oxford University and preached at numerous London churches, including at Westminster, with crowds coming to hear his spiritually powerful sermons. Some of these sermons have been collected into a George Whitefield book, appropriately titled Select Sermons of George Whitefield. What adds even more value to this book is an essay about Whitefield’s life written by author and preacher J.C. Ryle. Whitefield crossed the Atlantic ocean many times in his itinerant preaching travels. In many towns where he came to preach there was such a gathering of believers to hear him that churches could not hold them. Rebecca VanDoodewaard picks up on this interesting piece of Christian history in her children’s board book, The Man Who Preached Outside.