Croes was uniformly active and zealous in the service of the church, in both diocesan and general conventions. He first served as rector of
Trinity Church,
Swedesboro, New Jersey, and was called rector of
Christ Church, New Brunswick, New Jersey. In 1801, and he also served as principal of
Rutgers Preparatory School. During the early decades of the 19th century, he was a slave owner with at least four slaves in his household in New Brunswick.
Walter Herbert Stowe wrote in 1966, that Croes was symbolic of the
Episcopal Church ceasing to be exclusively English, coming from a lower class background, restoring a more democratized and simple Christian character to the
episcopate without pomp and circumstance, and rejuvenating the standing of the church in New Jersey. He was elected bishop of New Jersey in the summer, and was consecrated at
St Peter's Church in
Philadelphia on November 19, 1815. He is buried beneath the chancel of
Christ Church in
New Brunswick, New Jersey. ==See also==