Nicole Martin

Nicole Massie Martin
Born	Nicole Massie Martin
Nationality	American
Occupation	Media executive, nonprofit leader
Title	President and CEO, Christianity Today
Employer	Christianity Today
Known for	President and CEO of Christianity Today
Education	Doctorate (field unspecified)

Nicole Massie Martin is an American media executive, nonprofit leader, and organizational strategist who serves as the President and CEO of Christianity Today, a prominent evangelical Christian media organization founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. Unanimously elected by the Christianity Today Board of Directors in November 2025, Martin became the organization's leader after serving in successive executive roles at the company since 2023, first as Chief Impact Officer and then as Chief Operating Officer. Before joining Christianity Today, she held a leadership position at the American Bible Society and founded Soulfire International, a nonprofit organization. Martin holds a doctoral degree and has been recognized for her approach to leadership within Christian media and organizational management. Her appointment placed her at the helm of one of the most influential publications in American evangelicalism during a period of significant cultural and political change for the Christian media landscape.

Career

Early Career and Soulfire International

Prior to her work in Christian media publishing, Nicole Massie Martin established herself as a leader in the nonprofit and faith-based sectors. She founded Soulfire International, an organization where she served as executive director. Details regarding the founding date, specific mission, and programmatic scope of Soulfire International are limited in available sources, though Martin's leadership of the organization has been referenced in connection with her broader career trajectory in Christian ministry and organizational leadership.

Martin also served in a leadership capacity at the American Bible Society, one of the oldest and most established Bible distribution and engagement organizations in the United States. Her tenure at the American Bible Society preceded her move to Christianity Today and contributed to her experience in leading faith-based organizations with national reach.

Christianity Today: Chief Impact Officer and Chief Operating Officer

Martin joined Christianity Today in 2023, initially serving as the organization's Chief Impact Officer. In this role, she was tasked with expanding the organization's influence and developing strategic initiatives to increase Christianity Today's reach and engagement across multiple platforms. The Chief Impact Officer position was relatively new within the organization's leadership structure, reflecting a broader shift in Christian media organizations toward audience development and strategic engagement.

Martin subsequently rose to the position of Chief Operating Officer, where she oversaw the day-to-day operations of Christianity Today's media enterprise. As COO, she was responsible for the operational management of a media organization that encompasses digital publishing, podcasting, print media, and various other content platforms serving an evangelical Christian audience. Her progression from Chief Impact Officer to Chief Operating Officer within approximately two years demonstrated the organization's confidence in her leadership capabilities and her growing influence within the institution.

In an interview with Outreach Magazine in August 2025, Martin discussed her approach to organizational leadership within a Christian context, describing what the publication characterized as "a different kind of leadership." The interview explored her philosophy of leadership as it related to her dual roles as a media executive and a person of faith, and how those perspectives informed her operational decisions at Christianity Today.

Appointment as President and CEO

On November 19, 2025, Christianity Today announced that its Board of Directors had unanimously elected Nicole Massie Martin as the organization's next President and CEO. The announcement was covered by multiple news outlets, including Religion News Service and Christianity Today itself, reflecting the significance of the appointment within the American religious media landscape.

Christianity Today described Martin as bringing "more than 25" years of experience to the role, referencing her extensive background in nonprofit leadership, organizational management, and Christian ministry. The selection followed an internal evaluation process in which the board assessed candidates for the leadership of an organization that had undergone significant public attention and institutional transition in preceding years.

The appointment placed Martin at the head of one of American evangelicalism's most recognized media brands. Christianity Today, founded in 1956 by Billy Graham, has historically occupied a position as a centrist evangelical voice, and the selection of its leadership has often been interpreted as a signal of the organization's editorial and strategic direction. Martin's appointment was notable for placing her among a small number of women and African Americans to lead major evangelical media institutions in the United States.

Strategic Vision and Early Tenure

In a January 2026 interview with Religion News Service, Martin outlined her vision for Christianity Today under her leadership. She indicated that the magazine would focus on "building" — a reference to constructive, forward-looking journalism and content creation within the Christian media space. The interview, conducted during a period the reporter characterized as "hard times," explored Martin's conviction regarding the relevance and importance of Christian media in the contemporary cultural landscape.

Martin expressed a belief in "the good news, even in hard times," framing her leadership approach around a theology of hope and the constructive potential of Christian journalism. Her comments suggested a strategic direction that would emphasize Christianity Today's role as a source of encouragement and substantive engagement for its audience, while maintaining the organization's commitment to journalistic integrity and editorial independence.

The early months of Martin's tenure as President and CEO coincided with ongoing debates within American evangelicalism about the role of Christian media, the relationship between faith and politics, and the future of religious publishing in an increasingly digital media environment. As the leader of Christianity Today, Martin was positioned to influence how the organization navigated these complex dynamics.

Education

Nicole Massie Martin holds a doctoral degree, as reflected in her use of the title "Dr." in professional and media contexts. The specific institution from which she received her doctorate, the field of study, and the year of completion are not detailed in available sources. Her educational background has been referenced broadly in connection with her qualifications for executive leadership in the Christian media sector.

Personal Life

Limited information about Martin's personal life is available in published sources. Her professional career has been centered in faith-based organizations and Christian media, and she has publicly identified as a person of Christian faith whose spiritual convictions inform her approach to leadership and organizational management.

Martin has been associated with both Soulfire International, which she founded, and various roles within established Christian institutions, suggesting a career-long commitment to work at the intersection of faith, media, and social impact.

Recognition

Martin's appointment as President and CEO of Christianity Today in November 2025 received coverage from multiple prominent religious and general news outlets, including Religion News Service, Outreach Magazine, and Christianity Today itself. The coverage reflected the significance of the appointment within the broader landscape of American religious media.

Outreach Magazine featured Martin in an extended profile and interview in August 2025, prior to her elevation to the presidency of Christianity Today, characterizing her leadership approach as distinctive within the Christian organizational world. The feature highlighted her work as Chief Operating Officer and her founding of Soulfire International as evidence of her leadership credentials.

Religion News Service's January 2026 profile of Martin as the new CEO of Christianity Today further established her public profile within the religious media ecosystem, situating her appointment within broader conversations about the future of evangelical media and institutional leadership.

Legacy

As of early 2026, Nicole Massie Martin's tenure as President and CEO of Christianity Today was in its initial stages, and her long-term legacy at the organization remains to be determined. However, her appointment itself represented a significant moment in the history of Christianity Today and the broader landscape of evangelical Christian media in the United States.

The selection of Martin as the leader of Christianity Today — an organization founded by Billy Graham nearly seven decades earlier — placed her in a lineage of leaders tasked with shaping evangelical discourse through media. Her background in nonprofit leadership, her founding of Soulfire International, and her progressive rise through Christianity Today's executive ranks from Chief Impact Officer to Chief Operating Officer to President and CEO demonstrated an institutional path that reflected both her individual capabilities and the organization's evolving priorities.

Martin's stated vision of focusing on constructive engagement and hope-centered journalism positioned Christianity Today within a particular editorial framework during a period of significant polarization within American evangelicalism and the broader culture. Her leadership will be assessed in the context of how the organization navigates questions of editorial independence, audience engagement, digital transformation, and its role as a voice within a diverse and often divided evangelical movement.

Her role as founder and executive director of Soulfire International also represents an ongoing dimension of her public work, connecting her institutional leadership at Christianity Today with grassroots ministry and international engagement.