'Public perceptions of Christianity are changing’ says specialist Christian comms agency, announcing new leadership roles in response to growth

1 October 2024  |  News
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Christian communications agency Jersey Road is expanding in response to an increasing appetite for strategic communications support in the sector.

Recent trends – from the cost-of-living crisis to political uncertainty and rising openness to spirituality – have seen Jersey Road’s clients step into the gap nationally and around the world, offering social, humanitarian and financial support as well as authoritative thought leadership into some of society’s most pressing issues.

Now, the agency has announced a leadership change to facilitate the growing demand for its services, with co-founder Gareth Russell moving from Managing Director to CEO and its former Director of Client Services, Jessica Martin, taking on the mantle of Managing Director.

Gareth said: “What drove us to start Jersey Road back in 2010 was that we saw that the narrative around faith – and Christianity in particular – was negative, narrow and not reflective of what we had seen in reality from churches and Christian organisations on the ground.

“We’ve been working with nonprofits to change that narrative by helping them communicate the value they bring to society and build strong engagement with their supporters so that they can increase their impact during this time of acute need.”

Jersey Road began as a PR agency, but over the past three years has broadened its services to work across the charity communications remit, including developing an insights arm to help charities engage more effectively with new and existing
audiences.

The agency has grown from a team of seven at the start of 2020 to 25 people today, based in both the UK and Australia, as well as a network of international communications partners. It works with Christian organisations and those with a faith basis, with clients including Christian Aid, Compassion, Mercy Ships, The Trussell Trust, Tearfund, Christians Against Poverty and Mission Australia.

Jersey Road has increasingly been working on global briefs, including the recent launch of an updated version of the world’s most translated movie, The Jesus Film. Gareth’s new role will see him further develop these global networks, while Jessica will be focusing on strengthening the agency’s structure to support its provision of local and international integrated comms campaigns. Jessica said there are significant opportunities for Christian charities to communicate with impact.

“Several pieces of research have been released since 2020, from McCrindle in Australia to Barna in the USA and Savanta ComRes in the UK, pointing to an increasing openness from people to spirituality, and we’re seeing that play out across both social and traditional media,” she said.

“Celebrities and influencers are confident about sharing their faith, which is opening up fresh opportunities for Christian organisations to reach a new generation of audiences through digital and social media campaigns.

“Because we are experts in our sector, our clients know they can concentrate on delivering their mission when they partner with us to raise their profile and increase audience engagement.”

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