Editing First Great Awakening (section)

===England===
{{Methodism|expanded=background}}
[[File:Methodistiaid Seisnig.jpg|thumb|[[Methodist]] leaders active in the Evangelical Revival (clockwise): [[John Wesley]], [[Charles Wesley]], [[George Whitefield]], [[Joseph Benson]], [[John William Fletcher|John Fletcher]] and the [[Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon|Countess of Huntingdon]] (1895 Welsh illustration)]]
While known as the ''Great Awakening'' in the United States, the 18th-century revival movement is referred to as the ''Evangelical Revival'' in Britain.<ref name= quote>{{harvnb|Sweeney|2005|p=186}}: {{"'}}Great Awakening' is a largely American term for the transatlantic revivals of the eighteenth century. British Christians usually refer to the revivals—collectively and more simply—as 'the evangelical revival.{{'"}}</ref>{{Sfn|Bebbington|1989|p=20}} In England, the major leaders of the Evangelical Revival were three Anglican priests: the brothers [[John Wesley|John]] and [[Charles Wesley]] and their friend [[George Whitefield]]. Together, they founded what would become [[Methodism]]. They had been members of a religious society at Oxford University called the [[Holy Club]] and "Methodists" due to their methodical piety and rigorous [[asceticism]]. This society was modeled on the ''collegia pietatis'' ([[cell group]]s) used by pietists for [[Bible study (Christianity)|Bible study]], [[Christian prayer|prayer]], and accountability.{{sfnm |1a1=Smith |1y=2015 |1p=110 |2a1=Sweeney |2y=2005 |2p=37}} All three men experienced a spiritual crisis in which they sought true conversion and [[assurance of faith]].{{Sfn|Bebbington|1989|p=20}}

George Whitefield joined the Holy Club in 1733 and, under the influence of Charles Wesley, read German pietist [[August Hermann Francke]]'s ''Against the Fear of Man'' and Scottish theologian [[Henry Scougal]]'s ''The Life of God in the Soul of Man'' (the latter work was a favorite of [[Puritans]]). Scougal wrote that many people mistakenly understood Christianity to be "Orthodox Notions and Opinions", "external Duties" or "rapturous Heats and extatic Devotion". Rather, Scougal wrote, "True Religion is an Union of the Soul with God ... ''It is Christ formed within us''."{{Sfn |Noll|2004|p=73}} Whitefield wrote that "though I had fasted, watched and prayed, and received the [[Eucharist|Sacrament]] long, yet I never knew what true religion was" until he read Scougal.{{Sfn |Noll|2004|p=73}} From that point on, Whitefield sought a new birth. After a period of spiritual struggle, Whitefield experienced conversion during [[Lent]] in 1735.{{sfnm |1a1=Kidd |1y=2007 |1p=42 |2a1=Sweeney |2y=2005 |2p=40}} In 1736, he began preaching in [[Bristol]] and [[London]].{{Sfn|Kidd|2007|p=43}} His preaching attracted large crowds who were drawn to his simple message of the necessity of the new birth as well as by his manner of delivery. His style was dramatic, and his preaching appealed to his audience's emotions. At times, he wept or impersonated Bible characters. By the time he left England for the colony of Georgia in December 1737, Whitefield had become a [[celebrity]].{{Sfn |Noll|2004|pp=88–89}}

John Wesley left for Georgia in October 1735 to become a missionary for the [[Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge]]. Wesley made contact with members of the Moravian Church, led by [[August Gottlieb Spangenberg]]. Wesley was impressed by their faith and piety, especially their belief that it was normal for a Christian to have assurance of faith. The failure of his mission and encounters with the Moravians led Wesley to question his own faith. He wrote in his journal, "I, who went to America to convert others, was never myself converted to God."{{Sfn |Noll|2004|pp=84–85}}

Back in London, Wesley became friends with Moravian minister [[Peter Boehler]] and joined a Moravian small group called the [[Fetter Lane Society]].{{Sfn|Sweeney|2005|p=39}} In May 1738, Wesley attended a Moravian meeting on Aldersgate Street, where he felt spiritually transformed during a reading of [[Martin Luther]]'s preface to the [[Epistle to the Romans]]. Wesley recounted that "I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given me that he had taken away ''my'' sins, even ''mine'', and saved ''me'' from the law of sin and death."{{Sfn|Noll|2004|p=97}} Wesley understood his [[Aldersgate Day|Aldersgate experience]] to be an evangelical conversion, and it provided him with the assurance he had been seeking. Afterwards, he traveled to [[Herrnhut]] and met Zinzendorf in person.{{Sfn|Sweeney|2005|p=39}}

John Wesley returned to England in September 1738. Both John and Charles preached in London churches. Whitefield stayed in Georgia for three months to establish [[Bethesda Orphanage]] before returning to England in December.{{Sfn|Noll|2004|p=99}} While enjoying success, Whitefield's [[Itinerant preacher|itinerant preaching]] was controversial. Many pulpits were closed to him, and he had to struggle against Anglicans who opposed the Methodists and the "doctrine of the New Birth". Whitefield wrote of his opponents, "I am fully convinced there is a fundamental difference between us and them. They believe only an outward Christ, we further believe that He must be inwardly formed in our hearts also."{{Sfn|Kidd|2007|p=44}}

In February 1739, parish priests in Bath and Bristol refused to allow Whitefield to preach in their churches on the grounds that he was a [[Religious enthusiasm|religious enthusiast]].{{Sfn |Noll|2004|p=102}} In response, he began open-air field preaching in the mining community of Kingswood, near Bristol.{{Sfn|Kidd|2007|p=44}} [[Open-air preaching]] was common in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, but it was unheard of in England. Further, Whitefield violated protocol by preaching in another priest's parish without permission.{{Sfn|Smith|2015|p=110}} Within a week, he was preaching to crowds of 10,000. By March, Whitefield had moved on to preach elsewhere. By May, he was preaching to London crowds of 50,000. He left his followers in Bristol in the care of John Wesley.{{sfnm |1a1=Kidd |1y=2007 |1p=45 |2a1=Noll |2y=2004 |2p=102}} Whitefield's notoriety was increased through the use of newspaper advertisements to promote his revivals.{{Sfn|Smith|2015|p=112}} Wesley was at first uneasy about preaching outdoors, as it was contrary to his [[high-church]] sense of decency. Eventually, however, Wesley changed his mind, claiming that "all the world [is] my parish".{{Sfn|Smith|2015|p=110}} On April 2, 1739, Wesley preached to about 3,000 people near Bristol.{{Sfn|Sweeney|2005|p=42}} From then on, he continued to preach wherever he could gather an assembly, taking the opportunity to recruit followers to the movement.<ref name="Hurst1903">{{cite book |language=en |last=Hurst |first=J. F. |title=John Wesley the Methodist: a plain account of his life and work |location=New York |publisher=Methodist Book Concern |year=1903 |url=http://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/john-wesley-the-methodist/chapter-ix-society-and-class/|chapter=Chapter IX – Society and Class}}</ref>

Faced with growing evangelistic and pastoral responsibilities, Wesley and Whitefield appointed [[laity|lay]] preachers and leaders.{{sfn|Hylson-Smith|1992|pp=17–21}} Methodist preachers focused particularly on evangelizing people who had been "neglected" by the established Church of England. Wesley and his assistant preachers organized the new converts into Methodist societies.{{sfn|Hylson-Smith|1992|pp=17–21}} These societies were divided into groups called ''classes''—intimate meetings where individuals were encouraged to confess their sins to one another and to build each other up. They also took part in [[love feast]]s, which allowed for the sharing of [[testimony]], a key feature of early Methodism.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Stutzman|first1=Paul Fike|title=Recovering the Love Feast: Broadening Our Eucharistic Celebrations|publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers|isbn=978-1-4982-7317-6|page=159|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7zjsCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA159|access-date=4 January 2017|language=en|date=January 2011}}</ref> Growth in numbers and increasing hostility impressed upon the revival converts a deep sense of their corporate identity.{{sfn|Hylson-Smith|1992|pp=17–21}} Three teachings that Methodists saw as the foundation of Christian faith were:
# People are all, by nature, "[[total depravity|dead in sin]]".
# They are "[[sola fide|justified by faith alone]]".
# Faith produces inward and [[outward holiness]].<ref>Wesley, John. ''[[iarchive:bim_eighteenth-century_a-short-history-of-metho_wesley-john_1765/page/n5/mode/2up|A short history of Methodism]]'' (London, 1765). Archived 10 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 13 September 2023.</ref>

The evangelicals responded vigorously to opposition—both literary criticism and even mob violence<ref name="Barr">{{cite book |last1=Barr |first1=Josiah Henry |title=Early Methodists Under Persecution |date=1916 |publisher=Methodist book concern |ol=13495507M |url=https://openlibrary.org/books/OL13495507M/Early_Methodists_under_persecution}}</ref>—and thrived despite the attacks against them.<ref name="Barr"/><ref>On anti-Methodist literary attacks see Brett C. McInelly, "Writing the Revival: The Intersections of Methodism and Literature in the Long 18th Century". ''Literature Compass'' 12.1 (2015): 12–21; McInelly, ''Textual Warfare and the Making of Methodism'' (Oxford University Press, 2014).</ref> John Wesley's organizational skills during and after the peak of revivalism established him as the primary founder of the Methodist movement. By the time of Wesley's death in 1791, there were an estimated 71,668 Methodists in England and 43,265 in America.{{Sfn|Sweeney|2005|p=40}}