Excerpt from "The Secret to a Great Preaching Ministry":
"Hopkins looked down at his notes. ... 'Four weeks later, on March 25, the crowd that gathered in the open air to listen to the booming voice of George Whitefield -- a young man of only twenty-two -- was estimated at over 20,000. ... Not only did he draw huge crowds in his homeland of England, but upon his arrival in the recently populated New World of the American colonies, the crowds gathered to hear him there as well. In this New World he preached to Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Episcopalians, Catholics, Quakers, and Moravians -- all who were willing to hear the simple Gospel truth. During his lifetime he preached to hundreds of thousands of people.'
"Hopkins moved from behind the podium and leaned against it. 'Impressive, right?' he asked the crowd pointedly, and received murmurs of affirmation. 'How many of you would like to have a ministry like that?' The murmurs were louder this time, and a few people even raised their hands, bringing another wave of laughter.
"'And how many of you had heard of him before tonight?' The room grew quiet. A dozen people raised their hands, but there was no laughter this time.
"'George Whitefield was a great man of God -- a gifted communicator. In his day there was not a better-known man in the English-speaking world. But what became of his legacy? When he died, so did his influence.'"
