Sharp freed Liele sometime before the Revolutionary War began. After Sharp's death in battle in 1778, Liele made his way to British-occupied Savannah, where Sharp's heirs would have re-enslaved him but for the intervention of a British officer. Over the next few years, he built a congregation of black Baptists, slave and free, including the Silver Bluff group led by David George. One of his converts was Andrew Bryan, who continued the work in Savannah after Liele and his family sailed with the British to Jamaica in 1784.Settling in Kingston, Liele formed a church on his own land.

Liele's church flourished, despite persecution from whites. In exchange for a number of concessions, including inspection by authorities of every prayer and sermon, his ministry was tolerated, and he was allowed to preach to the poor and enslaved on plantations and in settlements. In 1791 he wrote, "I have baptized 400 in Jamaica....We have nigh three hundred and fifty members; a few white people among them."One of Liele's priorities was the organization and promotion of a free school for black children, taught by a black deacon. A few adult members of his congregation also learned to read, and he wrote that "all are desirous to learn."Over the years, Liele kept in touch with Bryan, George and other Baptist pioneers that he had converted. He wrote with a hint of pride of their far-flung ministries, noting that "a great work is going on..."

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"Africans in America" by PBS