[1] His first settlement was as minister of the independent congregations at Market Harborough, Leicestershire, and Cold Ashby, Northamptonshire.
In 1719 he succeeded George Fownes as minister of the independent congregation at Nailsworth in the parish of Avening, Gloucestershire, and at the same time took charge of his deceased uncle's students, and removed them from Tewkesbury.
Jones is best remembered for his admirable investigation of the grounds for attributing canonicity to the received books of the New Testament, to the exclusion of others.
It was entitled A New and Full Method of Settling the Canonical Authority of the New Testament and was left ready for the press at his death.
Jones is said to have projected another volume ‘on the apostolical fathers;’ more probably he meant to apply his method of determining canonicity to the remaining books of the New Testament.