You’ve emailed back and forth via your favorite online dating site and possibly even communicated via IM, SMS, or Skype. So, when do you actually meet in person? How long to wait to meet offline? There’s definitely something different about meeting face to face in comparison to just communicating via text. There are mannerisms and many (many) other things that make meeting “offline” much different than “online”.
Sometimes we build ourselves up online only to be disappointed offline, whereas other times meeting offline is what makes you *really* know there is something special there.
If one person asks to meet the other person too quickly, does that seem creepy? Do they seem needy? — or do they just not want to waste anyones’ time? As the podcast participant (listen below) put it “I didn’t want to get stuck in PenPal world”.
So, let’s hear from a few successful daters who met their Christian match online. The podcast below, put together but the Awesome-Content folks over at Boundless, talks all about when to meet offline. It’s the first segment in the podcast.
Aside from advice on how long to wait before meeting in person, the group also discusses how online dating can sometimes plant the thought that you’re “stepping on God’s toes” or forcing it against God’s will. Also brought up: If you wait too long to meet in person, are you “prolonging the agony”?
For full details on this podcast visit the Boundless page for the podcast titled “Nice To Meet You”.
I strongly suggest that you use a webcam when chatting with someone to make sure they are being true on who they are and what they are trying to represent. I met a scammer here on christiancafe and as naive as I was to believe good hearted christian men were only on this site. I was taken for some money through a business venture (I received lots of gifts).
I was strongly disappointmented when I realized this man was never going to come and visit me especially when he gave me excuses everytime he promised to show up (This went on for a year). He was getting upset because I was not quick to go and meet him because I work and attend college full time. In the beginning he even invited me (to use my own funds) to see him in Arizona and then Ghana. I told him it would only be right if he showed himself here first. I never saw him on the webcam (he claims it didn’t work, even though I sent him a new computer with a webcam- I learned from my mistakes)
My advice to both men and women enjoy the chats, send pictures, talk on the phone and use the webcam. Scamming can happen on any dating website. Give yourself some time to get to know someone, if they interested he/she will continue to give you more quality time. Scammers usually try to hurry up and get you off the Christian dating website because they do not want to invest any money after the free trial unless they continue to create new email addresses. First and last pray and ask God to give you the discernment when the time is right to meet people offline. I thank God, I met my husband on another church dating website- so all is possible with God. Blessings to you all.
Oh .. thank you for the good exprience you have shared with us.
May God Bless you .
Sharlon Ngabire Joyce
Any local man from the Christian Cafe site who has had any interest in me has sent a message stating that they want me to meet them in person right away for coffee. I have never responded positively to them because they all did not post a picture of themselves and did not answer any of the essay questions, and that made me uncomfortable. It didn’t matter if I would go meet them in a public place. I didn’t feel comfortable going to meet someone I barely knew without exchanging messages and phone calls first.