Jesse Zink
Jesse Zink is a priest in the Diocese of Western Massachusetts and a doctoral student at Cambridge University. He was awarded an ECF Fellowship to continue his research on the growth and development of Christianity among the Dinka people in southern Sudan during a civil war that lasted from 1983 to 2005. Jesse’s work explores the impact of war on the church and the ways in which the church can be an agent of poverty-alleviation and reconstruction in post-conflict societies.
Despite all odds, the Episcopal Church of the Sudan (ECS) is a thriving Church and the Dinka are among the most Christian peoples in Sudan. Jesse notes that his initial research and fieldwork suggests that the explanation for this lies outside the country, particularly in the refugee camps that sheltered the Lost Boys and other Sudanese during the lengthy civil war. “When they arrived in these camps, few Lost Boys were educated and hardly any were Christian. By the time they began returning home, many were ordained leaders in ECS and all had been educated in the schools in the camps. Now, these former refugees are the backbone of leadership in ECS, and are leading its work of poverty alleviation and development around the country. The church, which was once a small, largely insignificant organization, is now essentially the largest non-governmental organization in South Sudan.”
Jesse believes that the growth of the church in the non-western world is one of the most exciting developments in the church today. Given that, he will continue to help future church leaders in the United States learn more about the growth of Christianity around the world. Jesse is the author of Grace at the Garbage Dump: Making Sense of Mission in the Twenty-First CenturyBackpacking Through the Anglican Communion: A Search for Unity.
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