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By Jessilyn Lancaster
Iconic Events Releasing and Intrigue Films have set August 28, 2026 as the nationwide theatrical release date for BEYOND BELIEF, a faith-driven drama built around the music of four-time GRAMMY Award-winning Christian rock band Petra.
“For decades, Petra’s music has been about pointing people toward truth and hope,” said John Schlitt, Petra’s lead singer. “To see these songs take on new life in a powerful film like ‘Beyond Belief,’ and reach a whole new generation, is incredibly meaningful to us.”
Set in the 1980s, BEYOND BELIEF follows Andy, a teenage rocker chasing stardom while quietly unraveling after his father’s death. When a mysterious voice urges him to “run,” he’s pulled into an unexpected journey that challenges his ambitions, tests his faith, and forces a reckoning with what kind of life he was actually made to live.
The movie stars Carson Lueders, a 24-year-old singer-songwriter and actor from Spokane, Washington, who has built a following of more than 7 million on TikTok and 2.8 million on Instagram. His casting brings Petra’s catalog within reach of a generation that may be hearing it for the very first time. He’s joined by James C. Burns, Debby Gerber, and Libby Smallbone.
Petra needs no introduction to anyone who came of age in a church youth group between 1980 and 2000. Guitarist Bob Hartman founded the band in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1972, and with Schlitt stepping in as lead vocalist in 1986, Petra sold more than 10 million records worldwide, claimed four GRAMMY Awards and ten Dove Awards, and became the first Christian rock band inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
Here’s the detail worth savoring: Petra’s first GRAMMY win came in 1991 for their 1990 album, fittingly titled “Beyond Belief.” Both Hartman and Schlitt have officially endorsed the film.
The BEYOND BELIEF soundtrack—a blend of classic Petra tracks and original songs written for the movie—will release through Girder Music.
“Audiences continue to show up for stories that offer hope and connection,” said Mark Rupp, CFO/COO and Co-Founder of Iconic Events Releasing. “‘Beyond Belief’ is a film that speaks to purpose, resilience, and belief—elements that continue to draw audiences to the theatrical experience.”
BEYOND BELIEF is directed by Johnny Meier and produced by Joe Sanders, David Aaron Stone, and Sharon Oliphant. Intrigue Films, the Scottsdale, Arizona-based production company behind the project, has focused on faith-based features since 2010, placing previous titles on Netflix, Pure Flix, Amazon, and Redbox; this marks the company’s third feature.
Movieguide® has tracked the steady audience appetite for faith-friendly content in theaters for decades, and BEYOND BELIEF lands squarely in that tradition. A 1980s coming-of-age story about learning to hear God’s voice, backed by the catalog of Christian music’s most decorated band, is built for the audience that has been asking Hollywood for exactly this kind of story.
For tickets and more information, visit beyondbelief.movie.
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