Meanwhile, the publication itself sent out a news release earlier this month headlined “Christianity Today Announces New Editorial Leadership Team as the Ministry Celebrates Its 70th Year.
That release noted:
CT president and chief executive officer Nicole Martin announced the appointment of Erik Petrik as chief content officer and incoming editor in chief. Petrik, who previously served as chief creative officer at CT since 2020, is the founder of CT Media, where he executive produced CT’s acclaimed podcast series The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill. Petrik’s stint at CT has also included developing other popular podcast programs, including The Bulletin, Be Afraid, Wonderology, Being Human, and more; leading CT’s award-winning visual rebrand; and expanding the organization’s work across print, digital, audio, and video.
Petrik’s background spans journalism, film, pastoral ministry, and entrepreneurship. Study at Dallas Theological Seminary under evangelical stalwarts like Howard Hendricks and Darrell Bock informed his time as an ordained clergyman. Later at DTS, he helped pioneer spiritual formation as a field of study. Petrik has written, produced, and directed thousands of creative projects and is one of the founders of bulb Digital Portfolios, providing multimedia digital portfolios for the education market. He and his wife, Kelli, live in Colorado and have five adult children.
“With a media landscape dramatically changed over the last decade and promising more changes ahead, it was hard to imagine that we could find a leader with expertise in print, film, podcasts, church engagement, and art direction. But that’s what God has given us in Erik Petrik,” Martin said.
This transition follows the leadership of Marvin Olasky as editor in chief. Olasky, who stepped out of a previous retirement to serve the ministry at a crucial season of transition, will retire from CT in mid-October.
“When we asked Marvin to help as editor in chief last year, I was hoping he would give us at least six months of his one-of-a-kind expertise,” Martin said. “I was overjoyed that he instead gave us eighteen and that he accomplished so much in that time.”
While the release touted a “new editorial leadership team,” Petrik was the only person mentioned by name. The magazine’s positive spin on the changes failed to mention the layoffs of key journalists such as Olsen and the talented Harvest Prude, Christianity Today’s national political correspondent for the past three years.
Daniel Silliman, Christianity Today’s former senior news editor, left the magazine late last year, publicly voicing “both practical and philosophical” disagreements with its leadership.
(Weekend Plug-in/@bobbyross) 🗒️ Does Old-Fashioned Reporting Matter To Christianity Today? Some Say No 🔌 https://t.co/Q4EOF2Og50
— Religion Unplugged (@ReligionMag) October 16, 2026
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