Thomas Mitchell was born in Riverside, Illinois. He became widely known as a Bible teacher, pastor, author of several widely-read books, but especially, he was one of the first of the Bible students of more than a century ago to recognize how God was still working with the Jewish people, and the place they are to have in the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. He stressed the importance of a proper Christian attitude toward the Jewish people at a time when they were being made "the scapegoat" for all the world's problems. He founded the New York Jewish Evangelization Society, which was one of the first missions directed toward helping Jewish people find Christ not only as Messiah but as their own personal Saviour.