‘A Great Awakening’ tells inspiring story of George Whitefield and America’s first revival

The actor who portrays evangelist George Whitefield in a new film about America’s first great revival says he hopes the story sparks spiritual renewal in the hearts of moviegoers – and even plays a role in a modern-day revival.

A Great Awakening opens in theaters this weekend, telling the true story of Whitefield’s powerful preaching during the First Great Awakening and his unlikely friendship with Benjamin Franklin – a relationship that helped spread the gospel across the American colonies and ignite a spiritual movement that united a generation around faith and the idea of American independence.

It was produced by Sight & Sound Films and is the company’s second feature film, following I Heard the Bells (2023).

Jonathan Blair portrays Whitefield, while John Paul Sneed plays Franklin. Joshua Enck directed it.

“I feel like it’s a prophetic film, in that it’s laying a foundation,” Blair told pastor Greg Laurie on The Greg Laurie Show.

The film, not coincidentally, arrives as the nation approaches America’s 250th birthday.

“Before the fireworks and the cannons and the explosions of the Fourth of July this year – this film goes out ahead of it and lays a foundation of what true liberty really is – and how it’s really shared through this incredible story of these friends,” Blair said, referencing Whitefield and Franklin.

“The first Great Awakening was the first shared experience in the colonies,” Blair added, noting that it came decades before the Revolutionary War.

The Great Awakening “was the first unifying experience in the colonies. And George Whitefield was heard by over 80 percent of the colonists,” Blair said.

“His voice is about to be released again, and hopefully igniting the same kind of revival fire.”

The First Great Awakening was a series of powerful revivals in the 1730s and 1740s that swept through the American colonies.

“We know about Benjamin Franklin, but very few know about George Whitefield, and I think that’s going to be corrected by this film,” Laurie said. “Whitefield was from England, but he played a significant role in what became the United States.”

Enck, the director, said Whitefield’s influence is often overlooked despite his massive impact on early America.

“He was known for his voice – this profound, powerful, supernatural voice – he was like a trumpet blast from heaven,” Enck said. “And he wanted more of Christ and less of him, and that’s why we don’t hear his name a whole lot. He didn’t want a bridge named after him or denomination named after him, but he was known as the spiritual founding father.”

A Great Awakening is rated PG-13 for brief violence.