Whitefield is remembered as one of the first to preach to the enslaved. Phillis Wheatley wrote a poem in his memory after he died.
In an age when crossing the Atlantic Ocean was a long and hazardous adventure, he visited America seven times, making thirteen ocean crossings in total. It is estimated that throughout his life, he preached more than 18,000 formal sermons, of which seventy-eight have been published[18] In addition to his work in North America and England, he made fifteen journeys to Scotland—most famously to the "Preaching Braes" of Cambuslang in 1742—two journeys to Ireland, and one each to Bermuda, Gibraltar, and the Netherlands.
He went to the Georgia Colony in 1738 following John Wesley's departure, to serve as a colonial chaplain at Savannah.