Absalom Jones was born a house slave in 1746 in Delaware. He taught himself to read out of the New Testament, among other books. When sixteen, he was sold to a store owner in Philadelphia. There he attended night a school for Blacks, operated by Quakers. At twenty, he married another slave and purchased her freedom with his earnings.

Jones bought his own freedom in 1784. At St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church, he served as lay minister for its Black membership. The active evangelism of Jones and that of his friends, Richard Allen, greatly increase Black membership at St. George’s. The alarmed vestry decided to segregate Blacks into an upstairs gallery, without notifying them. During a Sunday service when ushers attempted to remove them, the Blacks, in a body, indignantly walked out.

In 1787, Black Christians organized the Free African Society, the first organized Afro American society, and Absalom Jones and Richard Allen were elected overseers. Members of the Society established communication with similar Black groups in other cities. In 1792, the Society began to build a church, which was dedicated on July 17, 1994.

The African Church applied for membership in the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania on the following conditions:
1. That they be received as an organized body;
2. That they have control over their local affairs;
3. That Absalom Jones be licensed as a lay reader, and if qualified, be ordained as minister.

In October 1794 it was admitted as St. Thomas African Episcopal Church. Bishop White ordained Jones as deacon in 1795, and priest on September 21, 1802.

Jones was an earnest preacher. He denounced slavery, and warned the oppressors to "clean their hands of slaves." To him, God was the Father, who always acted on "behalf of the oppressed." But it was his constant visiting and mild manner that made him beloved by his own members and by the community. St. Thomas Church grew to over 500 members during its first year. Known as "the Black Bishop of the Episcopal Church," Jones was an example of persistent faith in God and in the Church as God’s instrument.