God . . . It is Christ formed within us." Whitefield wrote that "though I had fasted, watched and prayed, and received the Sacrament long, yet I never knew what true religion was" until he read Scougal. From that point on, Whitefield sought the new birth. After a period of spiritual struggle, Whitefield experienced conversion during Lent in 1735. In 1736, he began preaching in Bristol and London. His preaching attracted large crowds who were drawn to his simple message of the necessity of the new birth as well as by his manner of delivery. His style was dramatic and his preaching appealed to his audience's emotions. At times, he wept or impersonated Bible characters. By the time he left England for the colony of Georgia in December 1737, Whitefield had become a celebrity. John Wesley left for Georgia in October 1735 to become a missionary for the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Wesley made contact with members of the Moravian Church led by August Gottlieb Spangenberg. Wesley was impressed by their faith and piety, especially their belief that it was normal for a Christian to have assurance of faith. The failure of his mission and encounters with the Moravians led Wesley to question his own faith. He wrote in his journal, "I who went to America to convert others was never myself converted to God." Back in London, Wesley became friends with Moravian minister Peter Boehler and joined a Moravian small group called the Fetter Lane Society. In May 1738, Wesley attended a Moravian meeting on Aldersgate Street where he felt spiritually transformed during a reading of Martin Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. Wesley recounted that "I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death." Wesley understood his Aldersgate experience to be an evangelical conversion, and it provided him with the assurance he had been seeking. Afterwards, he traveled to Herrnhut and met Zinzendorf in person. John Wesley returned to England in September 1738. Both John and Charles were preaching in London churches. Whitefield stayed in Georgia for three months to establish Bethesda Orphanage before returning to England in December. While enjoying success, Whitefield's itinerant preaching was controversial. Many pulpits were closed to