By Christina Young
While most Rookery Radio shows cover sports, news or university happenings, one show — hosted by 19-year-old Chris Gunther — focuses exclusively on the Gospel.
“The Chris Gunther Show” airs every Thursday from 7-9 p.m. Gunther said he hopes this show will foster positive feelings among listeners.
“My show is about giving people words of encouragement, and I try to let them know that [despite] anything they might be going through, that they have God and it is going to be alright,” Gunther said.
Gunther has been on the radio for just over a year, and though his show now focuses exclusively on the gospel, it hasn’t always been this way. Gunther’s show began as a gospel and R&B/hip-hop show, called the “KT & CG Show” — a program hosted by Gunther and a co-host.
“The audience loved our show; they loved how we showed them how you can still be saved and have your variety of music while still having fun,” Gunther said. “But I was still somewhat getting criticized by others who thought I was a hypocrite, but despite that [criticism] my co-host and I kept the show running with a lot of listeners.”
Even though Gunther’s original show was a huge hit amongst many, his co-host and him still had many disagreements which ultimately lead to them parting ways.
“I loved and still do love my co-host, but we just didn’t agree on certain things and that happens. Sometimes God makes things happen without you knowing why and that is when faith comes in; you just got to trust him,” Gunther said.
After Gunther’s first week of having his own show, he said he wanted to make it an all gospel program.
“In the last show I hosted, every time we played gospel music or had a Christian-influenced guest, our listeners would love it. We got wonderful feedback and to me that was God telling me I needed to do his work, inform the world about who he his and what great things he has done for others as well as what he can do for them,” Gunther said. “Since I not only love God but gospel music as well, I just thought ‘well let’s do it,’ and since Rookery Radio is a place where you really can just be yourself I got the green light to go forward with my plan, and I have had a great show ever since.”
The Chris Gunther show is now a hit among many. But the transition to a gospel themed show did not resonate with everyone.
“I lost a lot of friends and people who previously supported me; it was hard. I tried to hold it inside and not let it get to me, but I was still hurt,” Gunther said. “But one thing I did know was that I was doing God’s work and this was just what I had to go through at that time.”
Despite these troubles, Gunther’s show maintains popularity among a loyal listener base.
“Just got to stay tuned and see,” Gunther said. “God is leading the way.”
