From The Christian Country News Story Vault
Many fans of Gospel Music will say that there are many vocalists in the industry that are as good as, or better than, artists in the secular music scene. One of these vocalists that proves that point is Chris Hester. Distinctly country vocals with a bit of low-down inflection along with an honest delivery give this Dove-nominated Gospel artist a hint of familiarity even to those who are first-time Hester hearers. While he may still be new to some, he’s been singing professionally for 17 years. His latest release to radio is
“Miracle in Reach” from his album simply entitled “Reach.”
As one of the first millennial artists, Hester didn’t release an album initially but waited until he knew the time was right. An amazing moment happened in 2003 that confirmed his decision. “Kimberly, my wife, was teaching at that time,” begins Hester. “She had taken on a special-
needs student in her classroom where the parent also attended to assist daily in the classroom. The child, Reba, was very special. Her mother Kathe was as well. Kimberly invited them to attend our church.
“I sang that morning just before the sermon. Reba, who had always been nonverbal and unable to walk, began to kick and move with the music as I sang that morning. Her mother Kathe was touched by seeing her daughter’s response to Southern Gospel Music, and after the service asked if we could have dinner. While sitting down at dinner, a card and check was written to my ministry requesting I cut my first album with hopes that it would touch souls and lives across the country.”
“The first song released to radio from that album in early 2005 went on to be a top 80 song and nominated for Country Recorded Song of the Year on the Dove ballot. In 2006, the second single was nominated for a Dove in the first round as well.” Hester experienced the thrill of being recognized for his talents.
“Awards or nominations are not what it is about, but those things sometimes send artists encouragement to continue to focus on being the best they can be for our Savior,” he explains. Encouragement in any form is helpful to a vocalist trying to make a living singing the Gospel.
“Being an artist is challenging,” Hester says. “You often feel like you are only as good as your last single. When a song is doing well, you are normally up. When a song isn’t doing well, you can get depressed quickly, as we are human and often feel the urge to need the approval of our peers and supporters.
Hester doesn’t use the word depressed lightly. He knows what it is to be so 
much in the depths of
real clinical depression that it has been his cross to bear since 1995. He is not alone. In 2014, the Anxiety and Depression Association of America said that 6.7 percent of Americans had experienced at least one major depressive episode in the last year
(https://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/depression, June 26, 2017).
Staying busy is one way Hester has battled this mental health illness. More than just a case of the blues, clinical depression lasts more than two weeks and interferes with daily activities. In Hester’s case, it sent him plunging into darkness.
“In 1993, I found myself on my way to work on the side of the road in tears,” Hester shares. “I didn’t know why I felt so sad. I had been saved years before and knew Christ was there for me. I would pray and feel somewhat better, but still struggled with the feeling of spiraling down a deep dark hole. I sought medical advice and was placed on an antidepressant.
“From that point on, for over 10 years, they tried different (medications), which would eventually stop working. It wasn’t until I embraced my calling in 2003 that (I seemed to improve) without any medical treatment. Being in the center of God’s will was the turning point for me. I still have days that can be tough, as we all do, but find that prayer and meditation is
always healing.” Hester’s loved ones reacted the way many without knowledge of mental health issues likely would.
“People I’d known for years would say things like, ‘you’ve just got to be delivered,’ ‘there must be something wrong with you,’ or “you just aren’t giving it all to God,’” Hester recalls. “We would pray, and yet time after time, I still would fall into that deep dark hole. “Here is what I personally discovered. You have to guard yourself daily and make yourself
accountable to spending time in God’s word. You also have to be really careful in whom you have communication with and who you hang out with. Embrace the fact that the Lord only has us here for a short amount of time, and every moment we have on earth we have to make the best of
it and focus on glorifying Him in all we do, rather than ourselves or our peers and fans/friends.”
Often mental health issues are treated with a three-pronged approach: emotionally (psychotherapy), physically (drugs) and spiritually (pastoral therapy). Hester sought all of these
and found prayer, diet and exercise to be most beneficial.
“I do the prayer thing well, but diet and exercise is always a daily challenge,” he points out. “It certainly keeps me humble. It also makes me look for those who are searching for help in their darkness and inspires me to sing, write, and relate with those who are hurting. I guess you could
say it keeps things real. There are days I still want to go off the grid and have learned there is no harm in that.”
Hester says his difficulties are reflected in his music, and this is how he reaches out to others who are hurting. “I certainly hope the songs that go to radio are a tool that help reach out to others that might be
finding life a challenge in whatever they may be going through, and the message of our hope in Jesus Christ, my Savior will uplift souls and give them encouragement to keep fighting the good fight of faith,” Hester says.
Messages and emails that Hester receives from people who say that his songs have changed things in their lives let him know that God is using him to help others.
Hester’s message to others struggling with depression is, “Never give up. Never stop believing that Christ has something for you to do for Him. Start by counting your smallest blessings. Develop a focus on gratitude. I recently was so inspired by my producer, Kevin Ward, in a social media post he made about gratitude. It is so important to be grateful. Daily, I thank God for each one of you who have been so supportive.”
For those with loved ones battling any mental health issue, Hester has some advice to offer. “Never stop praying for them and find something in them that you love, and let them know randomly how proud you are of them,” Hester points out. “The energy we put in encouraging others is so important. I may not have ever recorded one album without that positive energy that came from a handicapped girl in a wheelchair whose parents believed in me as an artist, despite my depression, and made my debut album happen, my focus redirected, and my ability to fight
major depression issues with something positive.” One of the positive things that Hester is accomplishing is a new recording. “The first single from it will go to radio (in the) fall 2017,” Hester says. “The full release of the EP will be available first part of 2018. This album includes songs written by only today’s No. 1 songwriters. The new single is explicitly about many of the things this interview focused on. It’s entitled ‘Help Me Touch Heaven.’
“I now host a syndicated weekly radio program called ‘Gospel Music Now,’ with Christopher Reed as co-host. It is broadcast around the world and is on over 55 stations nationwide, as well
as iTunes Podcast, and has kept me really super busy keeping up with what’s going on now in Gospel Music, and taking the focus off of my depression struggles. An idle mind is the devil’s playground. Volunteering and working to help others is probably the best medicine. You can
never outgive the Lord. I often wonder what I’d be doing if I didn’t struggle with depression. I try to make what the devil meant for harm into what God can use for the good.”
Photo Shoot images by Glenn Sweitzer. Other images courtesy of Chris Hester.
