Driving Notes

Today on The Afternoon Drive, we heard our conversation with Darren Mulligan and Ethan Hershberger about The Hope Nights Tour, featuring Danny Gokey, We Are Messengers, and special guest Jon Reddick!

Darren gives us some insight on why the tour was given the name “Hope Nights”, and what his heart posture is for these concerts. He also shares what hope means to him, as well as the importance of Christian radio and hearing songs that point to hope through the airwaves.

Listen to the full conversation on our SoundCloud here:

The Hope Nights Tour with Danny Gokey, We Are Messengers, and Jon Reddick will be stopping in Archbold, Ohio, at the Archbold Evangelical Church, this Friday, March 13th, with General Admission Doors opening at 6:15pm!

You have another chance to win a pair of tickets for The Hope Nights Tour Wednesday morning, 3/10, on The Morning Thing! Make sure you listen from 6-9am for you chance to win!

Lifeline 2026 is coming April 8^th through the 13^th! Wednesday, 4/8 – Day of Prayer and Praise, Thursday 4/9, Lifeline Choice Challenge,  Friday 4/10, Matching Challenge Day, Monday 4/13, Lifeline Wrap-Up Day.

The Lifeline Challenge is back for 2026. This challenge encourages individuals and families to support WNZR’s ministry and asks for a monthly donation of $25 dollars over the next 12 months. We are looking for 250 individuals and families to take our Lifeline Challenge. We offer a day sponsorship to every donor that gives monthly support at the $300 dollar level. The day sponsorship can be used to honor a special day or a special person. You can honor a birthday, anniversary, wedding, graduation, engagement, or honor someone who has had an impact in your life! For more information about the Lifeline Challenge or the day sponsorship, call 740-392-9090 and ask for Marcy. Check out our website wnzr.fm!

Today on Game Time Tuesday, we played Song Poetry!

Here were this week’s lyrics:

I’ve crawled through the valley and the shadow of death
And somehow I walked out alive
I’ve run from my Father, I’ve run back again
Time after time after time

This week’s Song Poetry was from Have Your Way by Katy Nichole!

Congratulations to Trevor from Saint Louisville for calling in and being the first to correctly guess the song title and artist for these lyrics, taking home a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica!

Thank you for listening!
– Gabriella and Ethan

This week’s Artist News Day featured some of your WNZR artists coming to Ohio in concert!

This week, The Morning Thing and The Afternoon Drive have been giving you a chance to win tickets to see Seph Schlueter’s Counting My Blessing Tour, with our Tell Us Your Blessing Giveaway. Seph is coming to Ohio this week!

Seph Schlueter will be at the Crossroads Church in Mansfield, Ohio, on Thursday, February 26.

There are some concerts that feel good to be in the room for, and the “Counting My Blessings” Tour is one of them. Seph Schlueter will take the stage with the songs that have been repeated in your playlists and church services like “Counting My Blessings” and “Running Back to You.” Plus, the warmth of Allison Eide and her breakout, “Love Who I Am,” and the storyteller charm of Charles Weems with his “Slow Me Down.” You’ll leave this evening counting more than a few blessings of your own.

You have one more chance to win a pair of tickets tomorrow, on The Morning Thing! Be prepared to be the first caller to call in and tell us your blessing!

We revisited our conversation with Blessing Offor about his Heart So Real Tour!

This concert is happening tonight at the A&R Music Bar in Columbus!

If you’re still looking to see Blessing in concert, last-minute tickets are available HERE!

Listen to our full conversation with Blessing on our SoundCloud:

We had a stumper for this week’s Song Poetry!

Here were this week’s lyrics:

Sometimes I feel like I just keep pretending
And I’m slowly going out of my mind
And I, I feel like you could be the one
Who would catch me when my wings won’t fly

These song lyrics were from Lift Me Up by Blessing Offor!

Congratulations to Christina from Mount Vernon for calling in and correctly guessing the song title and artist, taking home two $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica!

Tune in on Wednesday for Who Knew Wednesday, and another chance to win a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant, with a game of Who Am I?.

Thank you for listening!
– Xander and Ethan

On this week’s Artist News Day, we got to talk with Blessing Offor! He’s bringing his Heart So Real Tour to Columbus, Ohio this late winter, and we got to talk with him about it! Blessing gets “real” with us in our conversation as he talks about the struggles that come with being blind, as well as what he will be bringing on his upcoming concert coming to the A&R Music Bar in Columbus, Ohio.

Listen to our conversation with Blessing Offor and Ethan Hershberger on our SoundCloud here:

Blessing Offor will be at the A&R Music Bar, in Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday, February 24!

This is Blessing’s first headline tour, highlighting the release of his sophomore album Real, which was released during a season of loss for Blessing. You’ll hear Blessing get “real” with you as he shares new songs from his new record, and join him in a night of worship, raw honesty, and great music.

If you would like to purchase tickets, information can be found HERE!

WinterJam came to Columbus on Monday (President’s Day), in Columbus, Ohio! If you missed this show, you still have two more chances to see it in Ohio!

This Saturday, February 21st, you can see WinterJam at the Heritage Bank Center, in Cincinnati, Ohio, starting with Jam Nation Doors opening at 4pm, General Admission Doors opening at 5pm, and the show starting at 6pm.

On Friday, March 27, WinterJam will be stopping at the Wolstein Center, in Cleveland, Ohio, starting with Jam Nation Doors opening at 5pm, General Admission Doors opening at 6pm, and the show starting at 7pm.

This year’s WinterJam lineup consists of Chris Tomlin, Matthew West, Katy Nichole, Emerson Day, Newsong, and more!

For more information, go to the Concerts page on our website HERE!

We will play MercyMe Name That Tune and give you a chance to win passes to see the movie I Can Only Imagine 2. We are also giving away the book “Even If – Trusting God Through The Fire” – the Official Book for I Can Only Imagine 2, written by Lead Singer Bart Millard and his wife Shannon Millard.

We will give you a chance to win with MercyMe Trivia. Even If is the inspiration behind the major motion picture I Can Only Imagine 2. This true story of heartache and hope from MercyMe’s lead singer, Bart Millard, and his wife, Shannon, shows us how even our deepest wounds can become doorways to God’s grace.

Even If is the inspiration behind the major motion picture I Can Only Imagine 2. This true story of heartache and hope from MercyMe’s lead singer, Bart Millard, and his wife, Shannon, shows us how even our deepest wounds can become doorways to God’s grace. Purchase Even If now at a great price wherever books are sold https://davidccook.org/books/even-if/ 

Congratulations to Janelle and _____ for winning our contests today!

This week’s Song Poetry may remind you of the artist we talked with today on The Afternoon Drive

Here were this week’s lyrics:

Sometimes I feel like I just keep pretending
And I’m slowly going out of my mind
And I, I feel like you could be the one
Who would catch me when my wings won’t fly

This week’s Song Poetry was a stumper! Tune in to The Afternoon Drive for next week’s Artist News Day, and see if you can give us the song title and artist from these Song Poetry lyrics for a chance to win two $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica!

Thank you for listening!
– Joe and Ethan

After joining Big Daddy Weave on their Let It Begin Tour in 2025, Megan Woods is headlining her first ever tour named after her breakout hit, titled The Truth Tour.

Joining Megan on these nights will be special guests Caleb & John and Jeremy Rosado. This tour will be all about worship, messages of identity in Jesus Christ, and songs full of God’s redeeming love.

This tour is coming to Ohio! Megan will be at the Celestia Theatre in Wadsworth, Ohio on Friday, April 24!

If you want to be a part of this night, ticket information can be found HERE!

You can read more about The Truth Tour HERE!

Amish Country is a beautiful place to take your spouse, your family, or your friends! If you’ve never been to a concert in there, what better way to experience one than with Cochren & Co. with his hits like Running Home, Church (Take Me Back), and One Day.

You can catch Cochren & Co. this month, on Saturday, February 21, at the Ohio Star Theatre in Sugarcreek, Ohio!

If you want to be a part of this evening, ticket information can be found HERE!

We had a new set of lyrics for Song Poetry this week!

Here were this week’s lyrics:

You’re pushing back the dark to get me closer to the light
Somebody tell my enemies there’s nowhere left to hide
You told me it’s Your battle, God, so I need You to fight
‘Cause if I’m going to live, then there’s some things that need to die

This week’s Song Poetry lyrics were from No Survivors by Jeremy Camp!

Congratulations to Nathan from Mount Vernon for correctly guessing the song title and artist, taking home a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica!

Tune in on Wednesday with Joe Rinehart and Gabriella Stanley for fun facts on Who Knew Wednesday and a game of Who Am I?.

Thank you for listening!
– Joe and Ethan

WinterJam 2026 is finally arriving in Ohio this Saturday! We’ve been anticipating their arrival to Columbus, Ohio by talking with the WNZR artists that are a part of this year’s lineup! We wrapped up our conversations with Chris Tomlin! You can listen to our conversation here:

WinterJam isn’t the only big concert we’re excited to cover! This morning, the Ohio State Fair announced their Christian artist taking part in their concert series this Summer 2026! This year’s artist is none other than for King & Country!

We’re celebrating this announcement by giving away “Win It Before You Can Buy Them” tickets by playing for King & Country Name That Tune!

Linda from Utica was our first winner for our giveaway on The Afternoon Drive. Keep listening on The Morning Thing and The Afternoon Drive Wednesday and Thursday for your chance to win!

For King & Country will be seen at the Ohio State Fair, in the Celeste Center, this summer on August 3rd! Regular ticket sales go live on Friday!

For more information, go to our Facebook post HERE!

On top of our two ticket giveaways, we also played a game of Song Poetry for our $5 Watts Restaurant gift card giveaway!

Here were this week’s lyrics:

And I don’t need to see it to believe it
For my whole life, You’ve been that all I’ve needed
And I, I’ve felt You in the fire and the rain

This week’s Song Poetry was a stumper! If you think you know the song title and artist these lyrics are from, tune in next week for a chance to win two $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica!

Tune in on Wednesday for another chance to win a pair of WinterJam 2026 passes and a chance to win “Win It Before You Can Buy Them” tickets to see for King & Country at the Ohio State Fair! You’ll also hear some fun facts for Who Knew Wednesday!

Thank you for listening!
– Xander and Ethan

As we’re leading up to WinterJam 2026, we got to talk with one of the three artist headliners, Matthew West!

WinterJam will have its first stop in Ohio on Saturday, January 24, at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio! Make sure you arrive 2-3 hours early when arriving to WinterJam to secure yourself a seat, and beat concert traffic!

WNZR will begin giving away WinterJam passes starting this Thursday on The Morning Thing and The Afternoon Drive! We will be playing WinterJam artist trivia!

For more information about WinterJam, click here:
https://www.wnzr.fm/winter-jam-2026

Back in 2019, Jason Gray filled listeners in with the battle against cancer that his son, Jacob, was fighting. Through time, Jacob showed no sign of cancer after he went through treatments, and the Gray family believed this chapter of their life was behind them.

Recently, Jacob started showing signs of the cancer returning. Jason Gray shared on his Instagram, “I’m heartbroken to share that Jacob’s journey has taken a sudden and devastating turn.” A swollen eye the size of a baseball led to Jacob having a biopsy revealing that his ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia) returned, and the family is once again on the fight with this cancer.

Despite the circumstances, the Gray family is fighting the cancer with a vengeance. Jason Gray has been giving viewers updates on his Instagram, sharing “In late December, he improved enough that we were able to get back on track with the original plan. Whew. And that’s where we are now. He continues to respond well, and it truly seems like the tide is turning.”

The Gray family is looking at the next step with treating Jacob’s ALL. “In February, he’ll begin CAR T-cell treatment, which will require relocating to Seattle for a couple of months,” Jason Gray shared. “It’s drastic. It complicates his life, his ability to work, and how he pays his bills—but it’s doable. Especially with the help you’ve all so generously given. Truly… thank you.”

Please pray for the Gray family as they face this battle of cancer, relocate Jacob to Seattle, and for Jacob to beat this cancer once and for all!

To support Jacob and the Gray family, click here:
Help Jacob Fight Leukemia (Round 2)
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-jacob-fight-leukemia-round2

Read the full story on CCM Magazine here:
https://www.ccmmagazine.com/news/jason-grays-son-shows-fight-update-on-jacobs-2nd-battle-with-cancer/

We had a stumper for this week’s Song Poetry lyrics!

Here were this week’s lyrics:

Don’t forget the things that He has done before
And remember He can do it all once more
It’s like the brightest sunrise
Waiting on the other side of the darkest night

These lyrics were from Haven’t Seen It Yet by Danny Gokey!

Congratulations to Jennifer from Centerburg for calling in and correctly guessing the song title and artist, taking home two $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica!

Tune in on Wednesday for some Who Knew? Wednesday fun facts and a game of Who Am I? for another chance to win that $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant!

Thank you for listening!
– Joe and Ethan