Two of the great figures to emerge from out of the religious fervor of colonial and post-revolutionary America, George Whitefield and Francis Asbury, shared a common tie to the Methodist movement of John Wesley.

George Whitefield entered Pembroke College, Oxford as a servitor, one unable to pay tuition and who thus served higher ranked students in exchange for free tuition. There he came under the influence of John and Charles Wesley and was a member of the Holy Club. In 1736, he was ordained a deacon, and in 1738, he followed John Wesley to Savannah, Georgia. He returned to England in 1739 to obtain priests orders to raise funds for his Bethesda orphanage in Georgia. His preaching attracted a wide following in England, Wales, and Scotland. Whitefield, who subscribed to the Calvinist position then prevalent in the Church of England, broke with the Wesleys, the latter being theologically drawn to Arminianism. Whitefield formed and was president of the first Methodist conference, but left that position after a short time to focus on evangelistic efforts.