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Gary Christian returns to faith years after daughter's death

11 years after the brutal death of his daughter, Gary Christian has returned to his faith and enlightening others through public speaking.

Gary Christian never imagined his life would go this way.

"I'm just glad for once I can remember all the good things instead of feeling all the hate," Christian said.

11 years have passed since his 21-year-old daughter, Channon Christian, and her 23-year-old boyfriend, Christopher Newsom, were murdered in Knoxville.

Channon's death destroyed Christian's faith, hope and sense of joy.

It wasn't until last Easter that he decided to go to church.

"It was time," Christian said.

It reinvigorated him. Christian was then asked to share his story, and he began giving speeches at churches and other events almost weekly since August. His family says people flock to hear his message.

"With what happened to the Christian family and the Newsom family, there's a lot of tragedy there," Christian said. "There's a lot of people out there that have tragedies... It couldn't get much worse than what it was with us. If the Lord can bring me back from where I was, he can bring anybody back."

RELATED | 10 year later: Remembering Christian-Newsom

Christian has also helped establish other legacies in his daughter's honor, such as the Shepherd's Riding Club, which hosts charity and memorial rides.

Christian says he's come a long way, but he still lives with deep anger and pain.

On Sunday, he got to focus on the good memories of Channon, and he knows she's proud of what he's done.

"Looking down at us... Confirmation of what I'm doing and what our club is doing," Christian said. "The rainbow and the sun, that was a message from them."

The Newsom family told 10News they held a small, private gathering for family and close friends on Sunday. They plan on continuing the baseball tournament in his name this coming spring.

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