Open-Air Evangelism
Story★★★★Immediately after evangelist George Whitefield (1714 -1 770) began preaching in the open air in the Moorfields near London, he attended morning services at Christ Church and found himself the object of the sermon. The preacher, Rev. Dr. Joseph Trapp, one of London’s ablest clergymen, denounced the evangelist’s activities, ridiculed his writing, and accused him of dishonesty. In his biography of Whitefield, Arnold Dallimore wrote, “This attack confirmed Whitefield in his belief that he could expect nothing but opposition from the clergy and that God was thus thrusting him into the fields.”
The point
Evangelist George Whitefield's open-air preaching in Moorfields prompted fierce opposition from London clergy, particularly Rev. Dr. Joseph Trapp. Yet this opposition convinced Whitefield that God was calling him into the open fields to reach common people.