Before the day’s fires are put out or strategic relationships are built, Scott Krus anchors his day with a simple, open-handed prayer: “Lord, what do you want?”
With over 35 years in Christian broadcasting, Krus’s journey has taken him from a college student converting a local AM station’s music library from records to CDs, to an industry veteran shaping the future of a legacy media network. Now serving as the president of KHCB Media Group, which oversees more than 60 outlets across five states, Krus is drawing on his extensive experience to navigate the balance of preserving traditional broadcast roots while reaching today’s multichannel audience.
Krus’s passion for local radio was ignited in his hometown of Peoria, Ill., at WPEO. He was narrating a church cantata when a local mission director connected him with the station, leading to his first full-time role. Bob Ulrich, the station manager, modeled a hustle and leadership style Krus sought to emulate.
Krus later built WBNH, a Moody Radio affiliate, from the ground up in a church basement, doing everything from hosting the morning show to writing the employee handbook. To foster deep community roots, he organized local concert ministries with artists like Fernando Ortega and Steve Green, which made the small staff feel much larger to the local audience.
“At that point, there were probably only two or three people on our staff,” Krus said. “But you could have a public event that connected you with somebody who was ministering on a regular basis on the station.”
This local emphasis ultimately led to a 17-year tenure at Moody Radio (WMBI) in Chicago. Operating as a bridge between retiring pioneer broadcasters and incoming young talent, Krus developed a respect for local heritage.
“I know the difference that legacy Christian radio makes in a big community where generations grew up listening to it,” Krus said. “People go off to Bible college and come back as a pastor and raise their families listening to Adventures in Odyssey. I can’t imagine Chicago without WMBI for 100 years.”
When he took the helm at KHCB in Houston two and a half years ago, Krus stepped into a massive legacy, following the 48-year tenure of President Emeritus Bruce Munsterman. To modernize the network without losing its core audience, KHCB recently rebranded to represent what Krus calls “timelessly refreshing Christian radio.”
KHCB’s goal is to present ancient Scriptures in a way that remains entirely relevant to modern life. By providing a dependable presence, Krus wants the network to champion local churches and parachurch organizations and truly “be their voice in the community.”
For Krus, the mission is beautifully simple: to “teach the Bible, to disciple believers.” He views radio as an essential tool coming alongside the church throughout the week.
“We have this incredible opportunity to kind of whet the appetite of believers,” he said. “Radio can be here to keep people in tune with the Word in between Sundays or small group Bible studies.”
But Krus’s vision for KHCB extends beyond the church pews; he hopes to be such a positive force of salt and light that even non-believers who never open the door of a church will “look at us and say, ‘I think they’re good for our community.’”
For fellow Christian communicators navigating a fragmented and polarized culture, Krus emphasizes the need to drop the traditional broadcast act. Gone are the days of the perfectly polished, lower-register “radio announcer” voice. Instead, Krus encourages broadcasters to “be real people,” sharing their daily, relatable struggles. He advises his team to “let a little of yourself out there.”
When adapting to the modern media landscape, Krus warns against the temptation to overextend digitally. While it is essential to be a multi-channel organization today, he cautions against attempting to manage more than you can handle. Instead of letting an Instagram account go dark, he advises stations to pick a specific channel and “find people who are native to that space and can speak that language,” ensuring the content is handled well.
Finally, Krus advocates for navigating cultural topics with deep humility. He knows the risks of tackling cultural issues on air, having once launched a morning show that drew both deep resonance and nasty letters for addressing hot-button topics. Today, he believes it is important to address these issues to help listeners navigate a changing world.
“There are ways to appropriately talk about harder things,” Krus said. “But there are times and ways that you can do that and always point people towards more resources.”
Above all, Krus reminds communicators that true faithfulness on the airwaves does not happen by accident. He notes that life is rarely consistent, so preparedness is key, defining faithfulness as “knowing why you do what you do and living in that each day.”
Houston Christian Broadcasters, Inc. (KHCB) has been an NRB member since 1990. Scott Krus currently serves as an NRB President’s Council member and on the NRB Board of Directors. Learn more at khcb.org.