First Journal Entry for October

Journal Entry. Evening. 6th of October. 2025

My thoughts are continually exercised and greatly afflicted by the remembrance of the street meeting we were constrained to forego by reason of my current ailment. My spirit finds itself in a sincere and arduous wrestling with the conviction that but a single public assembly per week may fail to bear the abundant fruit that the Lord desires. The soil is hard-packed, and the seeds must be scattered often and with great persistence!

A thought, aligning precisely with the earnest desire that the Holy Spirit has been stirring in my innermost heart for a full month's span, has now been laid bare before my mind’s eye. Yet, I am taking diligent heed not to rush forward in the flesh, lest I enter into a rash vow or a commitment made without a true and abiding dependence upon Divine Providence and enablement. I await the clear shining of the Lord's countenance upon this proposal.

Whitefield's activities in Scotland supply further evidence of the carefulness with which he planned his work of preaching.

His first three weeks were spent in Edinburgh. During this period he fulfilled his busy schedule of preaching, but he also used this time to familiarize himself with the land and to consider how best to reach its people. Thus he developed plans for an itinerary which would allow him, while using Edinburgh as his base, to range out on a series of evangelistic excursions, each one usually of a week's duration, first in one direction and then in another, thereby covering the major portion of southern Scotland. Then, during the next two months (September and October, 1741) he carried out these plans.

From Edinburgh he went out first in a somewhat north-easterly direction, preaching at Falkirk and Stirling. The second week took him towards the north - to Perth and Crieff - and the third still further north, to Cupar and Dundee. The fourth week he spent in the west, in and around Glasgow. Then came an  excursion to what he called the "south country" - to Galasheils and other towns in that direction. And after spending the next week at Edinburgh, he made his longest journey - a three week circuit north-east to Aberdeen, with pauses on both outward and return trips, to preach at Cupar and Dundee and other towns en route.

This Whitefield's planning enabled him to minister in many of the major cities and towns of Scotland and to cover a broad territory that contained the bulk of the country's population. Moreover, it allowed him to work according to his 'preach and return' method - preach to sow the seed and return to reap the harvest, preach to awaken the sinner and return to instruct the saint.

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Considering the map of my city, it is a huge undertaking. At first glance, impossible. Yet if the LORD should send this infant, Yet, my spirit holds fast to this blessed assurance: If the LORD, in His infinite wisdom, should birth this infant enterprise, He will Himself supply the power, the sustenance, and the quickening life inherent in His Holy Word. The work is His, and He is never wanting. I search for a fellow laborer, but thus far, I have not been granted the fellowship of a soul equally burdened with this specific and momentous call. Therefore, I find myself standing alone, devoutly weighing the numerous objections which the world and the flesh present, and seeking the divine answers that triumph over them.

To name but two of the chief impediments against this glorious task:

• First Objection: It is often put forth: Why trouble oneself to evangelize an area where, upon inquiring of any man or woman met on the street, the answer given as to the knowledge of our Blessed Savior is invariably 'Yes'? It is already claimed as a 'Christian' nation, and the need seems far less acute than in heathen lands.
• Answer: Ah, but this is a fatal deception! The people may indeed know His Name, yet they do not know Him as their Sovereign Lord and Redeemer. The outward profession is but a shadow; the inward life is wanting. Furthermore, we must bear in mind that this is not a unified Christian dominion, but one sorely divided, being half claimed by the tenets of the Roman Church, and the other half by the doctrines of the Moslem faith. The lost are yet lost!

• Second Objection: It is observed that there are already sound, Reformed churches planted in certain portions of Bulacan, possessing the pure doctrine and the orderly means of grace. Why, then, must we commence this laborious task?
• Answer: Alas, we must confess with grief that these very congregations, though reformed in principle, often cater only to the spiritual well-being of their own gathered flock, neglecting those who dwell immediately outside the pale of their fellowship. They exhibit no holy burden to venture forth with clear and urgent intent to compel the truly lost to come in. The work remains undone!

These and more. 

It (Bulacan) has 572 barangays in 20 municipalities and four component cities (Baliuag, Malolos—the provincial capital, Meycauayan, and San Jose del Monte the largest city). In the 2020 census, Bulacan had a population of 3,708,890 people, the most populous in Central Luzon and the third most populous in the Philippines, after Cebu and Cavite. Bulacan's most populated city is San Jose del Monte, the most populated municipality is Santa Maria, while the least populated is Doña Remedios Trinidad yet the largest municipality in terms of area. source: Bulacan Wiki

I stand before this entire map of the region, and upon it, my spiritual vision is given to discern a distressing truth: I most solemnly and painfully believe that there yet remain a vast multitude of lost sheep, tragically mingled with those who are already gathered within the fold. Their presence within the nominal boundaries of the Church only serves to conceal their true, perilous state. It is an astounding and fearsome number to contemplate! Out of the growing population of 3,708,890 immortal souls, how many, I ask with a conscience sorely troubled, are destined to enter into a Christless eternity, thereby robbing the Almighty God of His rightful glory in their salvation? This thought is a searing fire unto my bones.

And I must put the question to my own heart, with the utmost severity: For whom do I wait to go after them? Must I stand idly by, expecting another to assume the yoke and bear the burden of souls that the Master has laid upon me? 

Thus far, by the enduring mercy of Providence, have we been permitted to pour out our strength in these marked and consecrated locations. Many of these corners of the field have received our message not once, but repeatedly—by a number of oft-repeated visitations. Moreover, the compass of our spiritual journeys has stretched wide: we have labored far up in the northern reaches, and pressed onward way down toward the southern territories.

But it is the regions of Bulacan and the vast area of Metro Manila that remain our primary fishing hole—the very crucible of our most dedicated ministry. Yet, even as we ply these waters, the eye of faith must acknowledge that a region yet more vast and tragically unevangelized lies before us, its darkness untouched by the lamp of truth. The harvest is indeed plenteous, and the laborers remain few.

The contemplation of the field brings us to the profound and inescapable truth: The Task is Great, and the Labourers are lamentably Few. But rather than settling my soul into a lukewarm contentment with the small portion thus far achieved, my conscience compels me to a higher question: What doth my Master yet bid His unworthy servant to do?

I must not rest upon my laurels nor be satisfied with a meager yield, but must press toward the highest expression of His will. I shall not cease to inquire of Providence until the next clear duty is laid upon my heart.