Adore Prayer Retreat
March 20-21, 2026
The School of Divinity invites you to Adore, our inaugural prayer retreat—a sacred time set apart to seek Him whom our soul desires.
The Theme for this year’s retreat is The Cry of the Beloved.
In the midst of demanding schedules and relentless responsibilities, we extend this invitation to alumni, current students, pastors, and church leaders: come away and rest in the presence of the Beloved.
Through unhurried worship, prayerful engagement with Scripture, and seasons of both silent and corporate prayer, we will fix our gaze on God, encounter His transforming presence, and be renewed for participation in His mission.
For pastors and ministry leaders, this retreat offers timely spiritual preparation as we approach the Easter season—a chance to tend your own souls before shepherding others through Holy Week.
The retreat will be held on Regent’s campus. Hotel reservations are recommended through The Founders Inn and Spa.
Dr. Andrea Francis serves as Assistant Professor of Historic and Practical Theology in the Regent University School of Divinity. Dr. Francis left the sunny island of Jamaica to pursue theological studies at Regent University, where she completed a Ph.D. in Renewal Theology. Dr. Francis’ dissertation focused on the theology of Catherine of Sienna as a paradigm for the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Her research interests center on the work of the Holy Spirit in personal transformation and for that, she finds ample material in the writings of the saints and theologians throughout church history. She is passionate about believers maturing in the Lord and fulfilling God’s purpose for their lives. She strongly desires to encourage and strengthen others in their faith journey and is an ordained pastor with Global Outreach Church in Virginia Beach where she serves as a prayer coordinator and small group leader.
Dean Esther Gillie joined Regent University in 2016 to serve as Dean of the Library. She previously held librarian positions at Roberts Wesleyan University’s B. Thomas Golisano Library, the University of Connecticut’s Homer D. Babbidge Library at Storrs, the Music Library at the University of Illinois, and Eastman School of Music’s Sibley Music Library.
Dean Gillie is also privileged to serve as an Adjunct Professor at Regent University. She teaches Spiritual Formation courses for the School of Divinity, as well as Music History for the College of Arts and Sciences.
Dean Gillie has served as a Minister of Music for a variety of denominations for over 30 years.
Dr. Jordan Jones is appointed as an Assistant Professor for the Regent University School of Divinity. He received a B.A. in Pastoral Leadership and Biblical Exposition and an M.A. in Religious Studies from Liberty University. After this, he studied historical geography for a brief term at Jerusalem University College in Israel. He then attended Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, OH, where he received an M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East. Jones concentrated on the First Temple Period, focusing on the languages, history, and archaeology of Iron Age Israel. He also spent time at the Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology in Jerusalem, excavating at Tel Dan.
Jones and his wife Rachel have served together at churches in Virginia and Kentucky for many years, during which time they have especially loved investing in middle and high school students. After nearly 10 years of serving at Belleview Baptist Church, they returned to Hampton Roads where they now work and worship. In his free time, Jones enjoys hiking, reading, spending time with family, and “owning” his kids in pickup basketball (while he still can).
Dr. Mark Andrew Jumper, Texas-born and raised, is a third-generation Presbyterian minister and pastor and a retired United States Navy chaplain with 24 years of service with the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. He and his wife, Ginger, have seven children. He came to Regent in 2014. He prays to combine Biblical faithfulness, positive Reformed theology and Holy Spirit energy to equip students for fruitful service in all God’s world.
Jumper earned the Ph.D. in Humanities at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island, with a dissertation on Justice After War. He earned an M.Div. at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, and a B.A. in History at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He completed the Chaplain Advanced Course in Newport, Rhode Island, and earned certification as a Texas teacher (Social Studies 6-12). He also studied at the Naval War College, the University of Connecticut, the University of Oklahoma, Southeast Missouri State University, and the University of Missouri.
Jumper has served as Endorser for Chaplains for the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) and as National Secretary for the Military Chaplains Association. He also served as moderator of the EPC presbyteries of Mid-America and Florida. He was the first pastor of Diamondhead Community Church (PCUS), Mississippi, and second pastor of Hope EPC in Grayslake, Illinois.
As director of chaplaincy at Regent, he and his team prepare students for service in all 10 functional areas of chaplaincy.
Erik Eskelund is currently an M.Div. student at Regent University School of Divinity and serves as Associate Pastor of Worship and Missions at Courtland Baptist Church in Courtland, Virginia. Ordained to ministry for over three decades, he has led worship in diverse cultural contexts across five continents. Erik and his wife, Tami, are originally from South Africa and have been married for 35 years. They have two adult children and one grandchild.