 In 1623 he renounced his orders and joined the cause of the Independents.Lothropp gained prominence in 1624, when he was called to replace Reverend Henry Jacob as the pastor of the "First Independent Church" in London, a congregation of sixty members which met at Southwark.Church historians sometimes call this church the Jacob-Lathrop-Jessey (JLJ) Church, named for its first three pastors, Henry Jacob, John Lothropp and Henry Jessey.