About Bob Hartman
When Bob Hartman first picked up a guitar at the age of 13, he had no idea of the path his life would take. Growing up in the small Ohio town of Bryan, there was little to do in the after-school hours except practice guitar, and practice he did. At the age of 14 he started his first band but never played a public concert until a year later. Then, it was after-game dances at the school. Bob quickly discovered that this is what he wanted to do more than anything else.
On to college at Kent State, Bob's education was interrupted when four students were shot and killed by National Guardsmen on May 4, 1970, during a Viet Nam demonstration. This tragedy had a profound effect on Bob and started him on a quest to find deeper answers to life. That search ended later that year when Bob accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.
As Bob grew in his knowledge of God, he began to realize his need for a deeper understanding of God's Word. After transfering to Bowling Green State University and earning a Bachelor's degree in Psychology, Bob moved to Ft. Wayne Indiana to attend Christian Training Center, a two year Bible school. It was at that school that a ministry began that would last for over 30 years, the ministry of Petra.
By the time they retired in 2005, Petra had accumulated 4 Grammy awards, sold over 7 million albums, numerous Dove awards, and were inducted into the Gospel Music Hall Of Fame. But in Bob's thinking, all those accomplishments pale in comparison to the thousands, perhaps millions, of lives that have been touched through the ministry of Petra.
In the summer of 2006, Bob Hartman and John Schlitt began working on the next phase of their ministries and their lives when they commenced work on Vertical Expressions, the now newly released worship album by Bob and John, aka II Guys From Petra. Bob and John have begun traveling again as a duo with Bob on acoustic guitar and John singing, performing songs from all the years of Petra, as well as newly arranged worship songs from Vertical Expressions. Both John and Bob look forward to whatever God may may have planned for the future of II Guys, and enjoying every minute of the journey!
