Open-air preaching
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Open-air preaching, street preaching, or public preaching is the act of evangelizing a religious faith in public places. It is an ancient method of proselytizing a religious or social message and has been used by many cultures and religious traditions, but today it is usually associated with evangelical Protestant Christianity. Supporters of this approach note that both Jesus and many of the Old Testament prophets often preached about God in public places. It is one of the oldest approaches to evangelism.
A representative painting of Jesus Christ delivering the open-air Sermon on the Mount
Methodist preachers were known for promulgating the doctrines of the new birth and entire sanctification to the public at events such as tent revivals and camp meetings, which they believe is the reason that God raised them up into existence.
Street preaching 2022 in Germany
George Whitefield
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George Whitefield, also known as George Whitfield, was an English Anglican minister and preacher who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement. Born in Gloucester, he matriculated at Pembroke College, Oxford in 1732. There, he joined the "Holy Club" and was introduced to John and Charles Wesley, with whom he would work closely in his later ministry. Unlike the Wesleys, he embraced Calvinism.
The Old Bell Inn, Southgate Street, Gloucester
Whitefield had what is known as a “lazy eye” (strabismus) which did not affect his vision, but had the effect of making individuals in large crowds think that his eyes were directly on them.
Whitefield preaching. 1857 engraving