The Whole World is now my Parish
The Whole World is
now my Parish
The ship, The Elizabeth was ready to sail. George smiled as the young boy and two small girls, orphans he had rescued from the streets of London, stared wide-eyed at the great masts and sails above them. The boy of about ten, neatly dressed in clothes George had purchased for him, looked up at George. “Sir, I reckon she’s the best ship in England.”
George took his hand in his, “Yes, my boy, she’s well built and will do splendidly to take us to America. The Lord Jesus who loves his children dearly will watch over us all the way. Now run along with Mrs. Dent who is waiting to settle you all in your cabin.” Mrs. Dent was a widow who had come to mother orphans in the new world. These were her first charges. All of the group of eight men and four women going with George were leaving England with hearts ready to serve the Lord.
William and Captain Gladman stood at the rail watching the sailors work at the sails. “It’s a sight I never tire of,” the Captain said.
George came to stand by them. “Captain, you must miss commanding your own ship,” he said.
Gladman was silent a moment, and when he spoke his eyes glistened. “Before I knew the Master, I could not have imagined doing anything else. Now, He is the Captain of my life and it will be a great joy to serve him.”
George turned to face the Captain. “This new world needs to know him as we do,” he said. “May he open the eyes of America to see him!” George was silent for a moment before he spoke again. “I am ready to go as an itinerant preacher to preach the good news throughout the colonies or in England, or wherever the Lord calls me.”
“I think I know as much about sailing ships as any man, but I have not heard of an itinerant preacher before,” the Captain said.
William spoke up quickly. “Am I right, George that an itinerant has no parish or church congregation of his own, but goes and serves many churches?”
“You come close,” George said. “An itinerant preacher may preach in churches or outside of them, wherever he is led to go. While we are in America, the orphanage, Lord willing, will be our home base and from there we will make preaching tours through the colonies as the Lord leads. The world is now my parish.”
Captain Gladman’s eyes filled, as he said, “If God has called you to do this, he will bless this work even in America. I am ready to help anyway I can.” The others said the same. It was late when they returned to the cabin.
For the next week George stayed in his cabin to pray and study his Bible. He’d been so busy preaching to others and defending himself from the opposition, that he had not seen his own faults, or needs. He thought of his failures and began to think he was not worthy to be a minister, not patient enough, not kind enough. Being well-known could so easily bring him pride, and the list went on. Day after day George told the Lord his fears, read his Bible and prayed. By the end of a week, peace filled his heart like an overflowing stream of fresh sweet water.
He wrote to Marcus, “I saw my sins so clearly this week that I felt I could not go on preaching, but the Lord showed me what I must pass on to you, dear brother.” He thought a moment then wrote: “Satan will accuse us, but we may say with all our hearts, ‘Jesus is my Righteousness.’ He has called us, and he will keep us! Marcus, we need not fear! Our Jesus will let nothing pluck us out of His mighty hands. This is our support in all our trials!” As he sealed the letter it seemed to George as if the words he had just written were truly written on his own heart: Jesus is my Righteousness!
The rest of the voyage went quickly as George wrote letter after letter to encourage those who were spreading the gospel. To one he wrote, “Speak every time, my dear brother, as if it was your last. Talk to them, even till midnight, of the riches of Jesus.”
The Elizabeth took eleven weeks to reach the eastern coast of America. They were in sight of land and white sea gulls swooped overhead on breezes that carried the smells of growing things. George stood next to the railing with William and the others, while the children pressed close to Mrs. Dent.
“There it is, children, America!” he said. “The colonies starting with Maine in the north to Georgia in the south, run down the eastern coast like a strip of ribbon 1300 miles long and mostly no wider than fifty miles. On one side of them is the Atlantic Ocean and on the other side is a vast wilderness where a great number of Indians live. Nearly a million people fill the colonies, and 150,000 of them are Negro slaves. We must pray God to help us tell them all the good news of Jesus.”
Turning to William and Gladman, George said, “While our little family stays on board till Philadelphia, we will go on by land from Lewis Town. We can go by horseback to Philadelphia and get to know some of our new country. Philadelphia is the center of the colonies, and I plan to order wood and materials for the orphanage there. If God wills, I can preach the gospel and receive offerings for the Orphan House along the way.” Both friends agreed heartily.
The Elizabeth stopped long enough for the three men to wave goodbye to the rest and go ashore. It was October 30, 1739. News traveled across the ocean by ship, and the colonies’ newspapers were filled with stories of George Whitefield’s great ministry in England’s churches, and in the open air! Christians in the colonies were eager for his coming, and hoped that Mr. Whitefield would help spread the good news of Jesus. The three men were soon on their way to Lewis Town, 150 miles from Philadelphia. In Lewis Town George was told, “Once you leave Lewis Town, you will be riding for miles through unsettled wilderness. You’d better hire a guide,” their host warned them.
The guide William hired was a weathered-looking man who said little, but seemed to know his way. Soon there were no real roads. George marveled at the birds and wild animals they saw. Trees grew thick around them, some of which were new to George and his English friends. However, they had not seen a single person besides themselves, all day. It was ten at night before they came to a small, rustic tavern built in the middle of nowhere. They had ridden twenty-seven miles that day! The tavern keeper and his wife were plain, simple folk who offered what food they had, cider, eggs, and unleavened bread. To George it seemed like a feast. Fed and weary, George led them in a time of prayer and reading before bed. By eight the next morning they were on their way.
This time they rode nineteen miles before they reached a place to stop and eat. George invited their guide to sit near him, and in a short time the two were talking. By nightfall they had ridden fifty miles to an inn. The following day they rode sixty miles. Soon they were seeing large plantations and open country as they neared Philadelphia. It was eleven that night when they stopped at an inn in Philadelphia. George like the rest was weary and about to climb into bed, when a knock came at the door.
It was the guide. “Reverend Whitefield, I‘ll be on my way now, but there’s something been eating at me since you preached in Lewis Town. I don’t reckon, Sir, I’m a saved man, and I reckon it’s time I did something about it. Could you help me?” George’s heart leapt. Late into the night they spoke. And after tears and prayer the man left, thanking George and promising to look for him when George returned that way.
The following day William made final arrangements to rent a house for the family who would soon arrive on The Elizabeth. Philadelphia was a thriving colony with shops and goods to be had from its ship trade up and down the coast and with England. William, a wealthy man, had no trouble finding a fine large house. It was a joyful little troop that stepped onto land. The children were wide-eyed at all they saw. While the family settled in, George was asked to preach that evening at a Quaker meeting. Philadelphia was a city with many Quakers and churches of several other denominations. On the way William said, “Except for you, George, I know of no ministers of the Church of England who call Quakers their brothers in Christ.”
George nodded. “If a man believes in Jesus Christ then he is my brother, Quaker, Baptist, Presbyterian, or Independent. It is my joy to preach in their churches, and wherever I may preach the good news of Jesus.”