Welcome Home: Creating Belonging in Every Moment with Marcie Lemos

Pastors gather for prayer, families visit the café for lunch, and community members attend chapel services, concerts, and conferences. This open invitation is intentional and carefully cultivated. Jessup has positioned itself as a place where faith, learning, and community intersect, welcoming the region to experience what God is doing on campus.

Jessup University is home to a Warrior community that is committed to being world-changers for the Kingdom. But step onto campus on any given day, and it becomes clear that Jessup’s reach extends beyond enrolled students.

Shaping that culture is Marcie Lemos, Associate Vice President of Events and Experience. Through her leadership, Jessup has hosted visible and meaningful gatherings, welcoming influential speakers such as Francis Chan and Lisa Bevere and drawing record-breaking attendance. Yet the heart behind these events stretches beyond face-value: they are a ministry of hospitality, storytelling, and invitation.

“Our mission [at Jessup] isn’t just about equipping students,” Lemos says. “It’s about equipping the community. When people come to campus, we’re inviting them into our home. We want them to feel welcomed, seen, and valued from the moment they [arrive].”

Donors, alumni, and parents are invited to gatherings where their partnership with Jessup expands invaluable reach: scholarships are awarded, resources expand, and people are introduced to the Gospel for the very first time.

All of this means one thing: community-minded outreach brings endless possibilities.

Experience is central to telling Jessup’s story. “You hear the saying, ‘Actions speak louder than words’? I believe that a thousand percent,” Lemos says. “We say we’re Christ-centered. We say we’re a community. So we better be.”

Before working at Jessup, the University was already woven deeply into her family’s story.

“My husband and I have a history with Jessup because we attended when it was San Jose Christian College as we were preparing to be missionaries,” she explains. Years later, both Lemos’ son and daughter pursued an education at Jessup.

With deep ties to the community, Lemos accepted a role as Executive Assistant to Jessup’s Chief Financial Officer. “I loved seeing how the University operated,” she says, but it was beyond the office where she thrived most. “Every time I was out in the community—working at the campus store, talking with parents, donors, students—I felt a fire ignite within me! I realized that’s where I’m supposed to be.”

That realization led her to Jessup’s Advancement department, where she helped shape campus experiences, including the first President’s Dinner. When leadership asked her to help with the new event, Lemos responded “If I do this, can you trust me? I want to show you how I think we should tell Jessup’s story.”

The result was transformative. “At the end, Dr. Jackson said, ‘We’re never going back.’” 

Lemos draws her inspiration from the ultimate Creator. “God is the master of experience,” she says. “He didn’t create a gray world. He created beauty, texture, color, detail. That’s what I tap into when I design experiences here.”

That attention to detail has positioned Jessup as more than a university—it is a gathering place. Events like National Day of Prayer unite churches, Grandparents Day invites families into students’ lives, guest speakers draw attendees from far beyond campus, and Women in Prayer has grown into a thriving community that faithfully prays over the University and community.

“I see Jessup as a lighthouse,” Marcie says. “A beacon of Jesus shining over this region. We have so much to offer.”

That outward-facing posture extends to service through partnerships like Daysha Trujillo’s Trukidz organization, which provides hygiene kits to unhoused students. A Jessup student, Trujillo has led packing events alongside her peers with the support of Jessup leadership. For Lemos, the work is deeply personal. “My mother died homeless,” she shares. “So being part of that—seeing Jessup step into that space—it’s full circle for me.”

Looking to the future, Lemos dreams boldly. “I’d love to see Jessup become a premier event destination,” she says. “Known beyond this region. A place people want to gather.”

But at the core, her hope is simple. “Never lose our Christ-centeredness,” she says. “That’s what sets us apart.”

Through events, Marcie Lemos embodies Jessup’s commitment to something bigger than itself: a university rooted in faith, reaching outward, welcoming all—and inviting the community to experience something truly different.