From 1774 he was drawn to preaching; in June 1781 he was ordained pastor of the Independent Church at Kingston upon Thames.

[1] He found that William Huntington, who resided in Kingston, was influencing his congregation by his antinomian views, so he resigned his charge, and in October 1784 became minister of the Independent Church in Bermondsey, London.

On 11 July 1807 the first stone of a purpose-built school in Old Kent Road was laid by the Duke of Gloucester.

[1] The first headteacher was Joseph Watson, who had been educated at Thomas Braidwood's school for the deaf.

In 1811 a school was established for the free education of the sons of poor independent ministers, and in 1815 a house was taken at Lewisham to accommodate the children.