Team
“I love the name Creo because in Spanish it means I believe!”
-Eleseo, Pastor and Artist
Creo Arts is a non-profit with a board of directors and has a national advisory board. We have an executive director who provides strategic leadership to the movement. Our leadership team is made up of professional artist from various disciplines, who together, have years of experience and a deep abiding faith.
Winfield Bevins | Executive Director
Dr. Winfield Bevins is an internationally recognized author, teacher, and artist. As an ordained minister and an artist, he has been working at the intersection of art, faith, and the church for more than two decades. He is the founding director of Creo Arts and he is also artist in residence and an affiliate professor at Asbury Theological Seminary. Over the past decade, he has helped train leaders around the world and has helped start several non-profit organizations, including a non-profit art gallery and studio. He is the author of several books including Liturgical Mission (InterVarsity Press, 2022) and Ever Ancient Ever New (Zondervan, 2019). Winfield’s work has been featured in various outlets such as Christianity Today, Publishers Weekly, Outreach Magazine, and Religious News Service. In 2021, he was commissioned to paint an icon for the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in honor of his visit to New York City.
Linda Stratford | Scholar in Residence
Linda Stratford, Ph.D is a historian, writer and educator whose chief mission is to stir up thoughtful discussion about art. Originally trained as a studio artist, her career trajectory is that of teacher-scholar and undergraduate student mentor, creating innovative higher education deliverables such as the Asbury University Paris Semester where she continues to serve as Director. For several years she advanced the organization Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA) as board president and subsequently co-founded The Association of Scholars of Christianity in the History of Art (ASCHA). In connection with the ASCHA mission, she co-edited ReVisioning and has continued to contribute in a wide range of publications such as Religion and Contemporary Art: A Curious Accord (Routledge, 2023); God in the Modern Wing (IVP 2021); Contemporary Art and the Church: A Conversation Between Two Worlds (IVP 2017); and the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion. At Asbury University she teaches courses in Art History; French History; Art Theory; and Aesthetics. She is an active participant in annual meetings of the College Art Association.
Chris Segre-Lewis | Artist in Residence
Chris Segre-Lewis was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1976. After immigrating to the United States, he lived for many years on the east coast of Florida and now resides in central Kentucky. He received his BA from Asbury College in 1998 and MFA from the University of Kentucky in 2005. His paintings have been shown nationally in many solo and group exhibitions. His paintings explore the subject of landscape as a vehicle for expressing the divine, the spiritual, immortal, and sublime truths inherent within the context of creation. Chris is an Associate professor of Art and Design here at Asbury University and teaches drawing, painting, and design. Chris is represented by New Editions Gallery in Lexington, KY, Tew Galleries in Atlanta, GA, The Marshall Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ, Horizon Gallery in Jackson Hole, WY, Bennett Gallery in Nashville, TN, and the Meyer Gallery, Santa Fe, NM.
Jeff James | Chief Curator/Conservator
Jeff was born and raised in Wilmore, KY. He met his wife Donna at Asbury College, and they married near her home in East Barre, Vermont. The following summer they started a retail art and frame business. During
this time their children—Aaron and Aubrey—were born. In 1990, Jeff became Asbury University’s Physical Plant director serving in design and construction several major campus buildings. In 2002, he became
director of Ichthus Ministries/Music Festival that served tens of thousands of attendees annually. In 2009, Jeff returned to the design/art/décor field with commercial projects such as “The Barn” in The Summit at Fritz Farm, Maker’s Mark Distillery (the historic Samuels House among others), institutional work including The Joe Pitts Center for Public Policy, executive office suites, residential interiors, and furniture design. He is the contract curator and conservator for the John DeCuir Collection (100’s Hollywood set design illustrations). He also manages and displays Asbury’s extensive collection of movie/TV props and print materials. He has worked with and consulted for dozens of private collections, art galleries, and public showings.
Carol Anderson | Theatre and Prayer Support
Carol Anderson MFA is a professional actress, director, and playwright. With husband Jim Shores, she performs internationally as Acts of Renewal. Their faith and art projects have ranged from theatres to performing at arena marriage events to performing at biblical sites in Israel. Carol’s start -performing her one-woman show on eating disorders, tour and PBS film. Favorite roles include Hildegard of Bingen in A Feather on the Breath of God, and Edith Tolkien in Tolkien’s Marriage written by Jim Shores, commissioned by the International Inklings Conference. While on staff at St John the Divine- Houston, Carol developed an arts-based worship service incorporating theatre, dance, music, and visual arts that drew artists from across the city. Carol says, “People visited because of the arts, but they stayed because of the Holy Spirit.” Carol now teaches acting at Asbury University investing in the next generation of believer artists.
David Whitaker | Film and Production
David Whitaker received his Masters in Creative Enterprise from the University of Reading in England, and his Master of Fine Arts in Film and TV Production from Asbury University. Before receiving his degrees he worked in the film industry in Hollywood in both a production capacity and as a digital rights manager; serving clients from major studios such as 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers, Lionsgate, MGM, and others. He has also worked on numerous television shows, commercials, and feature films and continues to do so in his free time.
Jordan Butler | Song Writing and Worship Arts
Jordan Butler grew up in the small town of Arkansas City, Kansas. With his dad being a worship pastor, Jordan learned how to play music in the church, specifically drums, guitar, and vocals. In college as a percussion performance major, Jordan fell in love with songwriting which eventually led him to spend two years traveling and playing shows while also being a worship leader at his local church. Jordan and his wife Victoria felt a call to Asbury Theological Seminary and moved to Wilmore, KY in 2020. After recently graduating in May of 2023, Jordan is continuing to study the role of music in both art and worship. He is passionate about where art and worship intersect and where they differ. Jordan is interested in teaching on what worship is and the role that music has for the Church as well as teaching on songwriting and the importance of beautiful songs for the Kingdom and the world.
Victoria Butler | Community & Events Coordinator
Victoria Butler grew up in Kansas around artists and musicians and has always expressed herself creatively. She graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Digital Art and currently lives in Wilmore, KY with her husband, Jordan, while she works on her MA in Theological Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary. She is passionate about showing the love of God through hospitality and bringing people together. Victoria enjoys graphic design, music, painting, and photography. She’s seen God move through community and art, and longs to see others awakened to the beauty of God.
Cheryl McCarthy | Spiritual and Prayer Director
As a global spiritual coach, Cheryl diligently intercedes in prayer and intercession on behalf of various pioneering mission and leadership multiplication initiatives, i.e. Fresh Expressions NA, Ascent Movement, Creo Arts, and key missional movement leaders. Since being Director of The Chapel (an initiative of The Ananias Project | the Prayer and Intercessions stream of Fresh Expressions NA) and Coordinator of Prayer Mobilization for Fresh Expressions NA since 2014, Cheryl has been instrumental as a prophetic voice and guide to the missional movement. Offering Transforming Prayer Sessions she employs over 30 years of prophetic and intercessory prayer experience to support pastors and pioneers throughout North America and globally. Alongside her husband, Bill, they have ministered in multiple church plants for over three decades through prayer and worship ministry that began at Truro Anglican Church in Fairfax, VA, in 1991. Cheryl co-founded and served as Executive Director of The SEEDS Ministry in New Bern, NC, for six years, driving Kingdom Transformation across denominational lines through Prayer, Connection, and Empowerment, thus fostering a community ignited by the Holy Spirit. Leading Prayer Retreats and facilitating Encounter Prayer Rooms for National Gatherings, Cheryl and Bill exemplify spiritual leadership. They continue their journey from their home in New Bern, NC as almost empty nesters to five beautiful young adult children.