POWERS Podcast #400 — Steve Gatena, CEO of Pray.com
Date: December 23, 2025
Host: Chris Powers | Guest: Steve Gatena
Episode Overview
This milestone POWERS episode features Steve Gatena, CEO and Co-Founder of Pray.com, a transformative digital platform for faith content. Chris Powers and Steve dive into faith’s revival in culture, the unique challenges and opportunities of building a generational company in the faith space, the cultural transformation of “lost men” in America, and the principles Steve uses to steward both a cutting-edge business and an enduring mission.
The conversation is candid and rich with personal stories, leadership insights, and practical frameworks for legacy-minded leaders. Key themes include masculinity’s crisis in America, building a data-driven faith technology business, cultural shifts in spirituality, and Pray.com's vision for the future.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
A. Revival in Culture and Hollywood’s Transformation
- Steve describes witnessing a spiritual shift in Hollywood, traditionally seen as secular and self-focused.
- Personal encounter with Charlie Sheen, now open to faith after years of atheism, illustrating a larger cultural change.
- Steve: “Hollywood is not a place that openly embraces God...hearing [Charlie] directly say, hey, I used to be an atheist, and now I’m not so sure…maybe second chances are real. It seemed very genuine and authentic.” [03:45]
- The surprising influence of celebrities like Khloe Kardashian, who regularly promotes a Christian podcast (Bible in a Year with Jack Graham) to millions, despite not being formally linked to it.
- Steve: “Khloe Kardashian is not involved in the podcast…She promotes it as part of her daily routine.” [05:06]
B. The Charlie Kirk Assassination Attempt and a Surge in Faith
- Both discuss the cultural aftershocks of the Charlie Kirk assassination attempt and its impact on faith in America.
- Steve: “In the days…following, we’ve seen a massive resurgence in people coming back to Christianity…the numbers are skyrocketing for us.” [11:15]
- Metrics shared: Pray.com’s social media reach doubled post-event, with “50 to 70 million views a month” versus “half that” before.
C. Steve’s Origin Story: From Tech & Sports to Faith
- Raised by a Jewish mother and Catholic father in Simi Valley, CA; “hated every minute” of church as a kid but loved computers and sports [15:00–15:44].
- Recruitment experience with three-letter agencies and inspiration to pursue satellite imagery via the Air Force Academy.
- Suffered significant health setbacks, leading to change in life direction:
- Steve: “It’s the first time I realized that my plans for my life were not God’s plans for my life…” [17:53]
- Transferred from government and military aspirations, through D1 football (UC Davis, then USC), to entrepreneurial ventures.
D. Leadership Lessons from Pete Carroll
- Steve credits legendary coach Pete Carroll with a high-standard, high-praise culture:
- Steve: “He’ll literally say, we’re going to do it better than it’s ever been done before…that, to me, was a game changer.” [20:06]
- Daily praise (“cheers”) at Pray.com comes directly from Carroll’s playbook.
- Core values spell DREAM; “Are you being equally as intentional about praise as you are about criticism?” [22:21]
- Shared frameworks:
- Protect the team
- No whining, no complaining, no excuses
- Be early
- “If you have a framework for life, you’ll never be lost, even when you’re in the unknown.” [23:01]
E. The Mission-Team-Self Decision Framework
- Steve introduces Pray.com’s backbone: “Mission, Team, Self” to drive decisions and alignment.
- Illustrates the model using Chris’s own real estate business:
- Mission: Serve tenants (“tenant first”), operate property at the highest standards.
- Team: Owners, employees, financial backbone.
- Self: Individual skills, passions, capabilities.
- Steve: “If we can prioritize the mission, then the team, then self, and care about all three, we can build something that is long term, sustainable…” [30:23]
- Real-world application: Handling a looming major White House campaign (“America Prays”), navigating inclusion, scaling, and stewardship through the framework [33:33–37:19].
F. Prayer, Community, and America’s Crisis Among Men
- Chris and Steve agree the “decline of men” is a core societal issue.
- Chris: “One of the biggest issues in America right now is the decline of just men...weak men allow this stuff to happen...” [42:08]
- Steve shares Pray.com’s focus on supporting young men, fathers-to-be, and husbands-to-be with daily encouragement — counteracting media that tells men they “aren’t needed.”
- Steve: “We really wanted to speak to young men...a lot of the media thrown at guys today is: We don’t love you, you’re not capable, we don’t need you.” [48:50]
- The importance of accountability in male friendships and community to prevent moral/leadership failure.
- Chris: “A really strong man won’t bend [on] it…that posture alone in life changes everything.” [47:20]
- Vulnerability and rites of passage — cultural commentary on the loss of defining moments when “boys become men.”
- Chris: “We’re the only culture in the world…with no defining moment of when a boy becomes a man.” [57:04]
G. Building a Generational, Data-Driven Faith Company
- Pray.com’s “tech-media trinity”: SaaS for churches/ministries, ad-supported content, and consumer subscriptions.
- Steve: “No one’s ever done that before…for us, in the faith tech space, that’s business model innovation.” [71:11]
- Platform built on robust customer data (“over 50 million profiles”). Data informs what content to produce, whom to target, and where to allocate resources.
- Steve: “We needed to have this foundation of data…The way you build high quality content and technology consistently over time is by analyzing a tremendous amount of data.” [72:19]
- AI unexpectedly accelerated Pray.com’s progress because of the robust data foundation.
- Steve: “AI needs data, and now we have this proprietary customer data platform, we can build proprietary AI tools…” [76:49]
- Importance of brand: Acquiring the Pray.com domain before launch was a pivotal move. The brand carries intrinsic authority and trust.
- Steve: “It’s a verb. It’s…a destination. It’s a call to action, a place to do the action. It’s so special.” [84:37]
H. Measuring Success and Laying an Enduring Foundation
- Success isn’t mere scale or revenue; Steve’s focus is on stewardship, impact, and legacy.
- “My job is actually to lay the foundation to build into that thing that has already won…to lay this foundation good, to make sure…we add enough value so we can earn the right to exist tomorrow.” [66:59]
- Past ten years: Created the category (faith tech), demonstrated impact, built global partnerships.
- Regrets: Not yet doing enough for community support, especially local faith leaders/pastors.
- “The next 10 years…is fortifying these ministries…helping ministries solve their biggest problems…reach, engagement, monetization.” [88:07]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- “Hollywood is not a place that openly embraces God...But talking to Charlie [Sheen]...it seemed very genuine and authentic.” — Steve Gatena [03:45]
- “The Kirk family’s an investor...I’m thinking, I need to step up and do a way better job at my job.” — Steve, on hearing about Charlie Kirk’s shooting [11:15]
- “He’ll literally say, ‘We’re going to do it better than it’s ever been done before.’…That was a game changer.” — Steve, on Pete Carroll [20:06]
- “If you have a framework for life, you’ll never be lost, even when you’re in the unknown.” — Steve [23:01]
- “A healthy man really radiates to the people around them.” — Chris Powers [43:11]
- “We really wanted to speak to young men…The message that you’re loved…you’re capable…people need you.” — Steve [48:50]
- “It takes a lot of faith to be an atheist…Everybody’s got a God. Nobody believes in nothing.” — Chris [48:42]
- “Prayer sounds weak, right?...When I truly became a believer, it was after hearing a sermon from Matt Chandler…” — Steve [63:18]
- “You own Pray.com…you almost have to know this is something big.” — Chris [83:51]
- “My job is to lay the foundation…to make sure our company culture is operating on Mission, Team, Self…” — Steve [66:59]
Timestamps for Key Segments
- [03:45] — Hollywood’s spiritual transformation, celebrity faith stories
- [11:15] — Charlie Kirk event, Pray.com’s faith resurgence metrics
- [17:53] — Steve’s life pivot: Air Force Academy setbacks, new purpose
- [20:06, 21:42] — Pete Carroll’s framework and impact on Pray.com
- [30:23] — Mission-Team-Self framework: business applications
- [42:08] — Crisis of masculinity, men’s responsibility in culture
- [48:50] — Media’s message to men & Pray.com’s encouragement approach
- [66:59] — Laying a generational foundation, prayer as an enduring need
- [71:11-73:05] — Pray.com’s business model and tech/data-driven strategy
- [76:49] — AI, data, and proprietary tools in faith tech
Conclusion
This episode of POWERS with Steve Gatena is a compelling mix of personal testimony, cultural criticism, and world-class leadership strategy at the intersection of faith, technology, and legacy. Steve’s focus on building for generations, not just quarterly reports, delivers wisdom practical for any founder or leader—especially those seeking to make work matter far beyond their own tenure.
Pray.com’s mission, approach to data, their frameworks for business and leadership, and their role in America’s spiritual revival reveal how to balance profit, purpose, and stewardship—at scale.
For more:
Visit Pray.com or check out the latest partnerships, prayer resources, and content for leaders, families, and faith communities.