Ben and Kaye Creasman and Jackson

Role and number of years on staff:
Area Director over Furman and PC, 6th year

Hometowns:
Ben: born in Knoxville, TN but grew up in Loganville, GA
Kaye: Darlington, SC

Graduated from:
Ben: Presbyterian College ‘03 in Christian Education
Kaye: Presbyterian College ‘03 in Psychology

Our Story:
Ben: I grew up in a Christian home and was in church for the first 15 years of my life until my parents were divorced. After this, I was in and out of church with friends but really had lost interest in formal religion by my senior year in high school. There was always a recognition of God in my life and I knew that everything I had was from Him and through Him but I do not believe I had submitted my life to Him. My freshman year in college, I was completely wrapped up in finding identity in my performance on the football field. Although I did well for a freshman, I found that football was loosing its fulfilling power in my life. During this time, there were two guys who were involved with Campus Outreach that lived next door to me and were spending a lot of time around my room. As I began to spend more time with them, I saw a faith displayed in their lives that my life lacked. I could talk church with them and give good answers, but the thing that really distinguished their lives from mine was a passion for God. This was something I had never experienced or ever imagined in relationship to God. It was through many significant conversations and study of the word that the Lord directed me to Himself and ignited a passion within me for Himself. It was at this point I believe that the Lord allowed me to first see His worth and as a result desire after Him more than anything else in life.
Now, I am married to Kaye. She also attended Presbyterian College and graduated in ’03. We knew each other in college but a real friendship did not begin to grow until we started working together on staff at PC. After working together for a year and a half, we started dating and less than a year later were married. We have recently had our first child. His name is Jackson Benjamin Creasman.
We now live in Greenville South Carolina and oversee the ministries at Presbyterian College and Furman University.

Kaye:
I also grew up surrounded by Christianity and attending church my whole life. I said many prayers of faith & made many decisions for Christ, but then I would walk in my own strength to try to “be a better person” almost as if I felt guilty because Christ died for me so I had better straighten up and be a good girl! It wasn’t until the summer before my senior year in high school while attending a summer church camp that I realized that it wasn’t about what I had to offer God, but that His grace was a free gift that wasn’t earned by my good works. And I had learned at that point that my good works ran out fast! It was then that I accepted Christ to be my Savior and to be the Lord of my life…I entered into a personal relationship with Jesus and not just a working relationship.
When I arrived at PC my freshmen year (1999), I met many Christians who were continuing to grow in their relationships with the Lord like I never knew you could. It was then that I became involved with Campus Outreach and after graduation went on staff with the ministry at PC. A year later, Ben came on staff there and after a bumpy 1st semester of working together I realized I liked this former football player that I never gave a second thought to in college…we began dating & fell in love & were married! 3 years later we had our first son, Jackson & are loving being new parents. This kid is a stud!

Our hobbies:
Ben: I love to play sports and build stuff. I have been active my whole life and enjoy playing most any competitive sport because I am competitive. Most of the time, out of necessity, I play basketball. I also really enjoy building things. I have build a majority of the furniture in our home and love to take old, disregarded furniture and turn it into something new at little cost!
Oh, I also like playing video games. This is probably my most shammed hobby since so many view it as a waste of time, in Christian circles especially, but I enjoy the mindlessness of it, which I think is the thing people don’t like about it…funny thing.

Kaye: I love watching movies, going on drives, playing games (not video games!), blogging & blog surfing.

Our favorites:
Ben:
People (Yes, I am not afraid to say I have favorite people): 1st – Kaye (wife) and a close 2nd – Jackson (son)
College Sports Team: Michigan Wolverines (football)
TV Show/Network: HGTV, Deadliest Catch
Food: Rib Eye Steak (Longhorn’s Outlaw Ribeye is my fav! 16 oz of pure delight!)

Kaye:
People: Ben of course…Jackson…my family, Ben’s family, my friends!
College Sports Team: Michigan b/c Ben likes it
TV Show/Network: American Idol, I Shouldn’t Be Alive, HGTV, game shows
Food: Also Rib Eye Steak…homemade on the grill!

What you probably didn’t know about us:
Ben: Although many people look at me and hear about my days playing football, which were pretty crazy in that I was very aggressive on the field, they often miss the fact that I am a pretty emotional guy and am not afraid to shed a tear. But I do not tolerate whiners! That’s crying for things that do not deserve it. No wasting tears around here.

Kaye: I’m a walking paradox…I’m gentle, meek, and mild, but also feisty, crass at points and blunt. I’m also very competitive and 2 of my favorite things that I don’t let myself indulge in very often are Mountain Dew and Slim Jims (remember, I’m from Darlington)

Favorite links:
benandkaye.blogspot.com, ebay.com, homedepot.com, desiringgod.org