By Megan Venable
Meet Jenny Bushkell. She’s a radio talk show host, a podcaster and a daughter of Christ. She and I also are members of a unique sisterhood, as we are both past presidents of the Knoxville Nativity Pageant. It is how Jenny came into my life and why we are such firm friends. She currently serves on their Advisory Board as well as the WordPlayers Theater Company. Jenny was recently honored at the Girl Scouts of the Southern Appalachians Trefoil Luncheon as an excellent example for young women.
Jenny is a Knoxville native, growing up with a UT Professor father and Norwood Elementary first-grade teacher for a mother. She is a UTK alumna who lived for many years in New Orleans and Nashville before returning home to Knoxville. She and her husband, Larry, are VFLs and love all things Big Orange, especially football and basketball.
During the week, Jenny is a Christian Radio personality and has been for almost two decades. She produces and hosts a weekly hour-long radio show and podcast “Crossroads with Jenny Bushkell,” which features interviews on experiences of everything from inspirational stories through personal struggle to loss and recovery on WRJZ Joy 620. Once a week, Jenny also co-hosts the station’s “Bob Bell Show,” where she helps fun and faith come together. Her weekday, one-minute segments called “Standing at the Crossroads” are daily doses of hope and encouragement that can be heard in the Nashville market on the Bott Radio Network. “I like to do what God is leading me to do, and that is to help and encourage people,” Jenny says. “My passion is to share stories similar to what their needs are so that they realize that they are not alone.”
Jenny’s weekly show and podcast, “Crossroads” earned her the designation of Top Radio Podcast for 2023 by Spark Media – Christian Podcast Ventures, and she was named in 25 Best Christian Talk Shows by Feedspot. Additionally, she was chosen to be on the global app pray.com which has garnered her 68,000 followers.
At the end of the day though, it’s all about Jenny and her relationship with Jesus and bringing others to know Him. “A lot of people shy away from God or church ‘cause they see it as religion,” Jenny says. “Jesus is a relationship. He stepped out into the world so that we can have that relationship with him.” She and Larry have served on many lay ministry teams and international mission capacities.
You can find her radio show and podcast on any platform available. For now, you can tune in or access her database of archived interviews to listen for yourself. Jenny will be all too glad to share stories of individuals who may need a boost right now. “I like sharing stories from different perspectives that have wonderful experiences of how God is working in their lives.”