Jessica N. Janvier
New York, NY 10025
Education:
PhD in Intercultural Studies (2019-2023)
Columbia International University, Columbia, SC
Concentration in African American Religion & History of Christianity
Dissertation: “The Essence of Antebellum Afro-Evangelicalism: A Reading of the Evangelical Tradition Through the Paradigm of African American Religion”
Advisor: Linda Saunders, Columbia International University, PhD
ThM in Church History (2017-2018)
Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ
Concentration in 19th-Century African American Religion
Thesis: “Beyond Common Grammar: The Essence of Black Evangelicalism in the Antebellum South”
Advisor: Elsie McKee, Princeton Theological Seminary, PhD
M.Div. in Theology and Missions (2014-2017)
Nyack College, Alliance Theological Seminary, New York, NY
Concentration in Hebrew Bible and Missiology
Thesis: “The Image of God in John Wesley’s Anti-Slavery Hermeneutic”
Advisor: Louis DeCaro Jr., New York University, PhD
Summer Fellowship, Black Theology and Leadership Institute (2014),
Princeton Theological Seminary
Concentration in Black Theology and Womanism
BA in Communications (2006-2010)
Howard University, Washington, DC
Academic Positions:
Director of Admission & Financial Aid (Present)
Moravian University School of Theology
• Direct recruitment efforts and admissions processes for the School of Theology
• Oversees scholarship portfolios for two combined historic seminaries and the distribution of scholarships to students
PhD Advisor
Columbia International University (Present)
• PhD mentor/advisor for students in the Intercultural Studies Department whose studies focus on African American history & African American Christianity
• Guide students in their dissertation phase and up to the dissertation defense
Adjunct Professor (Present)
Meachum School of Haymanot & NAIITS Indigenous Learning Community
Courses:
HY601: Ubuntu (Theology of Justice)
• Christian interpretations of justice from the early church to the Western colonial period
• The rise and development of African American Christianity and its responses to theologies of racial injustice
• Contemporary ongoing theological discussions of social justice and gender equity in the Black Church.
Teaching Assistant in the Department of Intercultural Studies (2021-2023)
Columbia International University
Courses: Foundations for Calling & Work, Introduction to World Religions, Cultural Anthropology
Contributor/Researcher (Present)
Evangelical Missiological Society
• Researched and contributed historical articles on the intersection between the history of African American Christianity and missiology
• Provided lectures for the Evangelical Missiological Society national conferences in New York and Texas
Teaching Assistant in the Department of Bible and Theology (2016)
Nyack College, Alliance Theological Seminary
• The Church as a Social and Cultural Institution
Other Positions:
Monthly Contributor
Christianity Today (2025-Present)
• Writing articles that focus on historical and contemporary Black Evangelicalism in America
Associate Pastor, Butler Memorial United Methodist Church (2019-2025)
United Methodist Church of Greater New Jersey and New York Conference • Pastoral Care/Chaplain for nursing homes, hospitals, and homebound congregants; oversaw a team of volunteers to serve the varying needs of families with recovering or homebound relatives and those in palliative care
• Oversee Adult Christian Education
• Senior administrator for the church’s online campus
Transitional Conference Advisory Team (2023-2024)
Global Methodist Church (Northeast United States)
• Assisted in organizing the foundational structures, statement of culture, and mission statement for the newly formed denomination and its northeastern expression of Wesleyan Methodism
Editor and Contributor (2011-2012)
Christian Post and Breathecast Music News
• Researched and reported on religion and faith aspects of pop music culture • Edited articles for final publication
• Organized and oversaw a team of interns and collected their contributions
Publications:
2026 “God and the Underside: Revelation’s Missional Political Theology,” in Reading Revelation Missiologically, Eds. Abeneazer G. Urga, Edward L. Smither, and Linda P. Saunders. William Carey Publishing.
2024 “Healing and Diversity: A Renewed Vision of Cross-Cultural Mission,” in Missio Nexus, Vol 60, no. 3.
2024 “Rahab in the Epistle of James: A Paradigm for a Missiological Corrective,” in Reading James Missiologically, Eds. Abeneazer G. Urga, Edward L. Smither, and Linda P. Saunders. William Carey Publishing.
2023 “African American Missiological Use of Hebrews: From the Antebellum Period to the Twentieth Century,” in Reading Hebrews Missiologically, Eds. Abeneazer G. Urga, Edward L. Smither, and Linda P. Saunders. William Carey Publishing
2022 “The Black Church & the Missio Dei: Christianizing Christians,” in Journal of the Evangelical Missiological Society Vol. 2.
2018 “Santeria as Resistance,” in Majority World Theologies: Theologizing from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Ends of the Earth, Eds. Allen Yeh & Tite Tienou.
Works in Progress:
2026 “A Reading of the American Evangelical Tradition Through the Paradigm of African American Religion: Afro-Evangelicalism in the Antebellum World,” in Haymanot Journal Vol. 2.
2027 Black Missionary Legends, 1700s to Present, Eds. Jessica Janvier, Linda Saunders, Abeneazer G. Urga. William Carey Publishing.
Conference Presentations:
2024 “Missiology & Peacemaking: Equipping the Black Church to Engage the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Missiologically,” Evangelical Missiological Society
2023 “The Exodus Paradigm as Grounding for Black Flourishing and Orthodoxy in Contemporary African American Missiology,” Evangelical Missiological Society
2023 “A Reading of the American Evangelical Tradition Through the Paradigm of African American Religion: Afro-Evangelicalism in the Antebellum World,” Society of Gospel Haymanot
2022 “Reconciliation Through Historiography: Black Evangelicalism and the American Evangelical Histories,” Evangelical Missiological Society
Memberships:
• American Academy of Religion
• Evangelical Missiological Society
• Society of Gospel Haymanot
Honors and Awards:
• Dean’s List for Nyack College, Alliance Theological Seminary, 2014-2017
• Luis A. Carlo Award for Scholarship, Leadership, and Excellence in Urban Ministry, Nyack College, Alliance Theological Seminary, 2017
Jessica N. Janvier, PhD 