George Whitefield ( 1714-1770) was one of the first New Light Calvinists. A New Light Calvinist is a Calvinist that believes the 1% in Scripture that speaks of predestination should not prevent ministers from preaching what 99% of Scripture says: Immediately Repent of sin and love God unconditionally. In the New Testament, this is fulfilled in "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ". This is not a Calvinist versus Arminian issue...this is an obedience to the Word of God issue.

When Whitefield attended Oxford University, he was a member of the Holy Club of John and Charles Wesley. He was the first of the three to be saved, what the Bible called being born of the Holy Spirit. In 1740, he began a lifetime of preaching in North America, becoming the premier Calvinist evangelist of the First Great Awakening.

Here's a sample of what happened in a meeting from his journal:

"I had not spoken long before I perceived numbers melting. As I proceeded, the influence increased, till, at last (both in the morning and the afternoon), thousands cried out, so that they almost drowned my voice. Never did I see a more glorious sight. Oh what tears were shed and poured forth after the Lord Jesus. Some fainted; and when they had got a little strength, they would hear and faint again. Others cried out in a manner as if they were in the sharpest agonies of death. Oh what thoughts and words did God put into my heart! After I had finished my last discourse, I was so pierced, as it were, and overpowered with a sense of God’s love, that some thought, I believe, I was about to give up the ghost. How sweetly did I lie at the feet of Jesus! With what power did a sense of His all-constraining, free, and everlasting love flow into my soul! It almost took my life".

He was the premier preacher at Presbyterian Sacramental Meetings during the First Great Awakening, like the one in 1742 Cumbuslang, Scotland.

Here are a few of the "strange appearances" he witnessed of what happens when the Holy Spirit moves on hearts:

"A young woman under deep convictions… was struck down by the power of God’s word. I talked and prayed with her, and with near twenty more that came into the room. I also gave them a strong exhortation. They wept sorely and prayed earnestly; and I have not seen circumstances more like those of the Apostles when the Holy Ghost shook the room"

"In the afternoon sermon, had I proceeded, I believe the cries and groans of the congregation would have drowned my voice. One woman was struck down, and a general cry went through the assembly".

" A wonderful power was in the room, and with one accord, they began to cry out and weep bitterly for the space of half an hour".

" A great many, and some even of the most polite, wept much. But when we came to public prayer, the Holy Ghost seemed to come into the congregation like a mighty rushing wind… I had not long begun, before several fell a-weeping sorely; and the number still increased, till young men and maidens, old men and children, were all dissolved in tears, and mourning after Jesus".

" God has often been pleased… to make Himself known in our sanctuary and has caused a mighty power to attend the Word preached".