Frank Di Pietro, Rend the Heavens: “At the age of twenty-one, Whitefield gave his first sermon in the church of St. Mary de Crypt. The people were excited to hear him. When he spoke, the congregation was shaken to the core. A presiding Bishop, who was in attendance, said at least fifteen people were “driven mad!” The people were transfixed, and from that day on, Whitefield’s popularity never waned. Together with the Wesley’s, he preached throughout England, Scotland, and Wales. Thousands attended his services. Revival fires were breaking out wherever he preached. Because of the controversies that came with soul-stirring messages, the Church of England, refused to give Whitefield a pulpit – just like they had done to the Wesleys. Never deterred, Whitefield began preaching in out-of-the way places – parks, fields, wagons, tables, balconies, hills, and boats. Everywhere he spoke, enormous crowds gathered. Over the months, the head count continued to grow. Whitefield went to Hackney Marsh race course and preached to 10,000 who were there for the races. The people largely ignored the races and listened to the Gospel as Whitefield proclaimed it. Whitefield went to other race tracks to preach to the masses. In Marylebone Fields, he preached to 30,000 at the Moorefields in London, he preached to 60,000. “