Meet the People of Asbury
Church is about people, and we’re grateful for the wonderful people who help lead, care for, teach, create, organize, and serve alongside our Asbury community.
Our staff brings together different gifts, experiences, personalities, and passions, but we share a love for this community and a desire to help make Asbury a place where people can grow in faith, build meaningful relationships, and find ways to share God’s love with the world.
We’d love for you to get to know us.
Pastoral Leadership
Rev. Billy Hester
SENIOR MINISTER
Rev. Billy Hester is the Senior Minister of Asbury Memorial Church, where his love of faith, creativity, theatre, and people has helped shape Asbury into the joyful and inclusive community it is today.
A Savannah native, Billy earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre from Valdosta State University before moving to New York City to pursue an acting career. He performed in leading roles in productions including The Pirates of Penzance and Pippin and served as lead tenor for the Light Opera of Manhattan. During those years, Billy became part of Marble Collegiate Church, where he helped establish an arts fellowship that brought his love of theatre and faith together in a new way.
Billy eventually felt called from the stage to ministry, earning his Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1989 and later serving at Marble Collegiate Church. He returned home to Savannah and brought with him a belief that creativity and the arts could help people experience faith in meaningful and unexpected ways.
That vision has become part of the heart of Asbury. In 2005, Billy helped create God on Broadway, Asbury’s beloved annual worship series where theology and theatre come together through music, storytelling, Scripture, and sermons inspired by Broadway musicals. What began as a creative experiment has become one of Asbury’s most treasured traditions.
Billy shares his love of theatre with his wife, Cheri, herself a Broadway performer, and together they have spent decades sharing their gifts with the Asbury community.
At the center of Billy’s ministry is a belief that church can be thoughtful without being stuffy, creative without losing its depth, and a place where people from many different backgrounds and experiences can find community, ask questions, and discover the love of God.
Rev. August Alderman
ASSOCIATE MINISTER
Rev. August Alderman serves as Associate Minister at Asbury Memorial Church and is also a member of the preaching team at Wesley Oak, Asbury’s sister campus. A Savannah native who grew up in Richmond Hill, August’s journey into ministry eventually brought him back home to serve the community that helped shape him.
August earned his Master of Divinity from Chicago Theological Seminary in 2025, with ministry experience that included Clinical Pastoral Education at Hospice Savannah and a field placement at Asbury Memorial, where he served as Ministerial Intern. In June 2025, August was ordained at Asbury surrounded by the community that had walked alongside him during his journey toward ministry.
Today, August helps lead Asbury through preaching, worship, pastoral care, and the everyday work of being present with people through all the different seasons of life. He brings a thoughtful and compassionate approach to ministry, along with a willingness to explore faith through creativity, conversation, and sometimes a wonderfully unexpected cultural reference.
August lives in Savannah with his partner, Jason, and their cats, Esther and Daniel. Whether he is preaching at Asbury or Wesley Oak, offering pastoral care, or simply sharing life with the community, August is passionate about helping create a church where people can bring their whole selves, ask meaningful questions, and know they are welcome.
Randy Canady
CHURCH ADMINISTRATOR
Randy Canady serves as Asbury Memorial’s Church Administrator and, as anyone around Asbury will tell you, he keeps the place running. From the countless details behind Sunday mornings to everything happening throughout the week, Randy is often the person making sure things get where they need to go, problems get solved, and ministry keeps moving forward. In fact, there are weeks when he seems to spend more time at Asbury than he does at home.
Music is also an important part of Randy’s life. He is a longtime member of I Cantori and shares his voice and musical talents as part of Asbury’s Sunday worship music team.
Beyond all he does at Asbury, Randy is a proud father and grandfather who treasures his family. Whether he’s handling something behind the scenes, singing on Sunday morning, or helping someone who walks through the church doors, Randy brings a steady and caring presence to the Asbury community.
MINISTRY & MUSIC
Ray Ellis
MINISTER OF MUSIC
Ray Ellis is Asbury Memorial’s Minister of Music, and his lifelong love of music, theatre, and helping people discover their own gifts makes him a natural fit for Asbury’s creative approach to worship.
A Savannahian since the age of four, Ray attended Armstrong State College before spending 30 years as a choral and drama teacher. He has also been active in Savannah’s community theatre for more than 50 years and has sung with I Cantori for more than three decades.
Throughout his teaching career, Ray believed music could help people gain confidence and discover that they were capable of more than they realized. He never required students to audition for his choirs because, for Ray, making music was about what people could create together rather than showcasing a few individual voices. He brings that same philosophy to Asbury today. As he likes to say, the only audition for the Asbury choir is being able to laugh.
“If we are singing to glorify God and not ourselves, God will bless it.”
That spirit of joy, community, and creativity shapes Ray’s ministry at Asbury, where music and the arts help us worship, tell stories, and make room for everyone to participate.
Outside of Asbury, Ray has returned to crocheting, a skill his grandmother taught him when he was nine, and has begun pursuing acting and voiceover work. He also works as a caregiver, helping people who need additional support and companionship.
Ray met his husband, Randy Canady, while singing with I Cantori. They have been together for more than 25 years.
And one final piece of essential Ray Ellis history: while in college, he collected buttons with funny sayings. His favorite?
“SUCK CHEESE, SHARK FACE!”
Kay Deffley
ORGANIST
Kay Deffley serves as Asbury Memorial’s Organist, but her life of sharing music in the church began long before she found her way to Asbury.
Growing up in Illinois, Kay was 11 years old when her mother asked her to play piano for Sunday School. Her mother told her, “God has given you musical talent, and now it’s time to give back to God.” Those words stayed with Kay and helped shape a lifelong passion for sharing music through piano, organ, flute, and directing and accompanying choirs, much of it within the church.
After spending the first 71 years of her life in Illinois, Kay eventually made her way to Savannah and Asbury, where music has also become a family affair. She accompanies a choir that includes her daughter Barb, son Nick, and son-in-law Danny. Kay is also the mother of Brenda and the proud grandmother of Caleb and Mirabelle.
Before settling into her longtime career as a Mary Kay Sales Director, which has spanned nearly 50 years, Kay taught business in central Illinois high schools. She credits Mary Kay Ash as an important mentor who taught her lessons about working with and caring for people.
Some of Kay’s fondest memories reach back to the 11 years she spent living on a farm with her parents, where she learned discipline, responsibility, and an appreciation for nature. One of her favorite Asbury memories came much more recently, when she celebrated her 80th birthday by sharing a recital of Sacred Jazz with the community.
Through all the chapters of her life, music has remained a way for Kay to give back, bring people together, and express her faith. She is grateful for the people, experiences, and gifts that have shaped her journey, and we’re grateful she continues to share those gifts with Asbury.
Candace Jenkins
CONNECTIONAL MINISTRIES COORDINATOR
Finding a church is one thing. Finding your place within it is something more, and Candace helps people make those connections.
As Connectional Ministries Coordinator, Candace helps create opportunities for people to meet one another, become involved in the life of Asbury, and discover meaningful ways to participate in our community. Whether someone is brand new or has been around for years, her work helps turn Sunday-morning acquaintances into deeper relationships and a stronger church family.
Chris Kincade
YOUTH DIRECTOR
Chris Kincade serves as Asbury Memorial’s Youth Director and Communications Director, helping tell Asbury’s story while creating a welcoming community where young people can build meaningful friendships, ask honest questions, serve others, have fun, and explore their faith.
Chris is passionate about helping people feel connected and making sure everyone, especially young people, knows they are valued and an important part of the Asbury family. Through his work in communications, he helps share the creativity, joy, and inclusive spirit of Asbury with the wider community.
Outside of church, Chris loves spending time with his wife, Bridgette, and their son, Fitz, and has a lifelong love of musicals and theatre.
Bridgette Kincade
NURSERY
Bridgette Kincade has been part of the Asbury Memorial family for nearly 20 years and now serves some of its youngest members and their families as part of our nursery staff.
Her love for this ministry is personal. When Bridgette and her husband, Chris, were raising their son, Fitz, the nursery staff and volunteers at Asbury surrounded their family with incredible care and support. Today, Bridgette loves having the opportunity to offer that same sense of welcome, trust, and encouragement to other young families, helping create a place where children are loved and parents know their little ones are in caring hands.
Bridgette holds a Master’s degree in Education and is a high school art teacher at Georgia Connections Academy, a career she genuinely loves. Her passion for creativity and young people is a natural part of who she is, both in the classroom and at Asbury.
When she isn’t teaching, caring for Asbury’s youngest friends, or spending time with Chris and Fitz, there’s a very good chance Harry Potter is involved somewhere. She is a proud and unapologetic fan of the Wizarding World.
We’re Here for You
You don’t need to know exactly whom to contact before reaching out. If you have a question about Asbury, need help getting connected, or simply want to talk with someone before your first visit, send us a message and we’ll make sure it reaches the right person.