Education
Biography
Dr. Jessica Udall has lived and worked as a professor in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the past several years, where she is also the Deputy Director for SIL in Ethiopia’s Capacity Building Department. She has been an adjunct instructor at CIU since 2020.
Before relocating to Ethiopia, Jessica’s focus was ministry among refugees, immigrants, and international students in the USA, and she continues to research and write on topics related to global migration, diaspora issues, cross-cultural partnership, and mutuality in mission. She has also worked as a freelance journalist since 2017 for Mission to North America’s Refugee and Immigrant Ministry, writing feature stories on churches who are engaged in welcoming the stranger.
Jessie has been married to Abeneazer Urga (a fellow CIU grad) since 2010, and they have two children, Daniel and Sophia. She enjoys having lively conversations with interesting people and drinking strong Ethiopian coffee, preferably at the same time.
Selected Publications & Presentations
Books
- Reading James Missiologically: The Missionary Motive, Message, and Methods of James. Littleton: William Carey, 2025 (edited with Ed Smither and Abeneazer Urga).
- Building Community Through Hospitality: Insights from Ethiopia for the American Loneliness Epidemic. Eugene: Pickwick, 2024.
- Reading 1 Peter Missiologically: The Missionary Motive, Message, and Methods of 1 Peter. Littleton: William Carey, 2024 (edited with Ed Smither and Abeneazer Urga)
- Mission in Praise, Word, and Deed: Reflections on the Past and Future of Global Mission. Littleton: William Carey Publishing, 2023 (edited with Ed Smither)
- Loving the Stranger: Welcoming Immigrants in the Name of Jesus. CreateSpace, 2015.
Chapters and Articles
- “Forsaking Resource Righteousness for Global Theological Table Fellowship.” Evangelical Missions Quarterly 50, no. 3 (July–Oct 2024).
- “Ethical Living as Proto-Evangelion: Holiness, Honor, and Hope in 1 Peter.” In Reading 1 Peter Missiologically: The Missionary Motive, Message, and Methods of 1 Peter. Edited by Ed Smither, Jessica Udall, and Abeneazer Urga. Littleton: William Carey, 2024.
- “Finding Theological Reciprocity: Mission Education in the Global South.” In Equipping for Global Mission: Proposals and Case Studies. Edited by Linda Saunders, Gregory Matthias, and Edward L. Smither. Littleton: William Carey, 2024.
- “Lives that Welcome: How a Non-Western Understanding of Hospitality Can Revitalize the American Church’s Fellowship and Outreach.” Journal of the Evangelical Missiological Society 3, no. 1 (February 2023).
- “Hope as an Anchor: The Missional Message of the Pilgrim People of God.” In Reading Hebrews Missiologically: The Missionary Motive, Message, and Methods of Hebrews. Edited by Ed Smither, Linda Saunders, and Abeneazer Urga. Littleton: William Carey, 2023.
- “Faithful Fundraising: Communicating Needs without Sacrificing Dignity or Short-Circuiting Discipleship.” In Communication in Mission: Global Opportunities and Strategies. Edited by Marcus Dean, Scott Moreau, and Sue Russell. Littleton: William Carey, 2022.
- “Ethiopian Immigrants as Cross-Cultural Missionaries: Activating the Diaspora for Great Commission Impact.” In Diaspora Missiology: Reflections on Reaching the Scattered Peoples of the World. Edited by Michael Pocock and Enoch Wan. Pasadena: William Carey, 2015.
Awards and Honors
- Board Member, Evangelical Missiological Society, 2022–2024.
- Board Member, William Carey International University, 2024–present
- CIU’s Recent Alumni Recognition Award
