Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Petra founder Bob Hartman and longtime lead vocalist John Schlitt look back on the faith, music, challenges, and unexpected moments that have shaped one of Christian rock’s most influential bands.
Hartman and Schlitt join the program to discuss Beyond Belief, a new feature film centered on young Christians in the 1980s and featuring Petra’s music. Hartman explains that the filmmakers approached the band with an idea that immediately caught their attention: tell a story about Christianity and young people in the 1980s, when many kids were gravitating toward Petra’s music and finding spiritual encouragement through it.
The conversation also reaches back into Petra’s history. Hartman talks about the balance between ministry, music, and the business realities of keeping a band going for decades. That sometimes meant telling everyone they needed to take a pay cut. At other points, the band prayed together about whether God wanted Petra to continue at all.
Hartman says their testimony included more than what happened onstage. Petra wanted even non-Christian vendors they worked with to be able to say, “These are the best people we’ve ever worked with.”
And then there’s one of the stranger chapters of Christian music history: backward masking. Hartman confirms that Petra intentionally recorded a backwards message after hearing accusations about hidden messages in music. Their response turned the controversy into a memorable joke.
Hear Bob Hartman and John Schlitt discuss Petra’s legacy, the new Beyond Belief movie, the band’s business philosophy, and why they’re still thankful for every opportunity God gives them.
Petra founder Bob Hartman and longtime lead vocalist John Schlitt look back on the faith, music, challenges, and unexpected moments that have shaped one of Christian rock’s most influential bands.
Hartman and Schlitt join the program to discuss Beyond Belief, a new feature film centered on young Christians in the 1980s and featuring Petra’s music. Hartman explains that the filmmakers approached the band with an idea that immediately caught their attention: tell a story about Christianity and young people in the 1980s, when many kids were gravitating toward Petra’s music and finding spiritual encouragement through it.
The conversation also reaches back into Petra’s history. Hartman talks about the balance between ministry, music, and the business realities of keeping a band going for decades. That sometimes meant telling everyone they needed to take a pay cut. At other points, the band prayed together about whether God wanted Petra to continue at all.
Hartman says their testimony included more than what happened onstage. Petra wanted even non-Christian vendors they worked with to be able to say, “These are the best people we’ve ever worked with.”
And then there’s one of the stranger chapters of Christian music history: backward masking. Hartman confirms that Petra intentionally recorded a backwards message after hearing accusations about hidden messages in music. Their response turned the controversy into a memorable joke.
Hear Bob Hartman and John Schlitt discuss Petra’s legacy, the new Beyond Belief movie, the band’s business philosophy, and why they’re still thankful for every opportunity God gives them.
