Yet another testimonial for ChristianCafe.com!

Jeremy from Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, writes…

Lindsay and I met on [ChristianCafe.com] the beginning of July 2010. But, to start, my mother had pushed and prodded me to try a website that she had heard about called “Christian Cafe” and eventually I gave in. The questions through this service were purposeful and intentional, I could easily figure out the kind of woman God had in store for me. When I found Lindsay I instantly knew that she was and is the one I was looking for. Since July we have dated for approximately 3 months then I proposed to her on October 20th. We are engaged to be married in nine days (May 21st). She is the love of my life. I have always been indecisive rushing into things with out being patient and waiting on God’s timing. Since I started with Christian Cafe, God used it to bring about patience and, in turn, the right timing.

Lindsay is from Coopersburg, Pennsylvania – about a 3-4 hour drive from Hollidaysburg. Add this to the growing list of positive Christian Cafe reviews. Congratulations!

We recently launched our Christian dating Andriod App. Below is a quick video tour showing the Android app in action. Enjoy!

Christian Dating Tip #1: Be Honest

For all aspects of a dating profile (multiple choice, written answers and photos) consider the honesty you appreciate when viewing the profile of another Christian single. Consider “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” when creating your profile. Just as you want honesty, do so with your dating profile as well.

For example, with the multiple choice questions about whether you are divorced or have kids, select your option honestly. How about the salary question? If you decide to answer it (optional on most dating sites) be honest there too. Ditto for all questions, of course.

The photos you are about to post: do they reflect what you look like today? – or are they from back when you were in college? Appearance is part of the package that many singles look for. Having them find out you look totally different (more than a few extra pounds? not quite as much hair?) upon meeting you shows you’ve already been dishonest even before the relationship begins.

Many people communicate over the computer or phone quite a bit prior to meeting in person. Why waste everyone’s time by portraying yourself as someone you aren’t? Being honest from the beginning is the best way to start off a loving relationship with another Christian single.

Christian Dating Tip #2: Be Interesting

While honesty is paramount, don’t sell yourself short either! We all have interesting things to write about ourselves. A lot of times, however, how you communicate those things makes all the difference. Be specific and detailed.

For example, instead of stating “I love to travel”, mention places you’ve been and why you enjoyed them so much (“While I’ve been all over Europe, last fall I went to Prague for 5 days and wanted to take a photo of every building — such great architecture!”). Likewise, mention the next destinations on your list (and why you want to go there).

If music is your thing, mention some of your favorite bands or artists and how much you loved their last live show (“I saw newsboys a few months ago in a small venue and they were amazing!” sounds much more interesting than just “I love Christian rock”). Also avoid cliches as much as possible.

Christian Dating Tip #3: Post Great Photos

Let’s be honest: photos matter. People want to view who they are writing to. So, A) post multiple photos of yourself; B) as mentioned above, post honest and up-to-date photos of yourself; C) take the time to post great looking photos.

On that final point, here are some photo tips:

• make your main photo a head shot. Let people see you up close! For the other photos, post a variety of shots — preferably doing things that you find fun and interesting;
• post photos where there is proper lighting: a dark photo where others can barely see you isn’t much help – and it doesn’t show you the best you can be!
• keep it to just you: forget the family photos, photos with your kids/nephew/niece/etc. It’s not fair to those ‘extras’ in the photo exposing them to the online masses, and really the profile is about you (not them!)

Christian Dating Tip #4: Ask Questions

When you’re writing your profile, how about including some questions or some sort of lead in that makes it easy for someone who wants to contact you to do so! Maybe a “tell me about….” or “what do you think about…?” Now those who want to write to you have the perfect conversation starter. Wow, that was easy!

Christian Dating Tip #5: Be Positive

Nobody wants to date someone who makes them feel down. Write your profile from a positive perspective – talking about the things that make you smile and laugh. Avoid complaints or unnecessarily negative comments. If you’re blessed with the gift of humour definitely show that in your writing!

Christian Dating Tip #5: Spell Check!

Yes, spelling counts – as does proper grammar. Take the time to review what you’ve written. Incorrect spelling or punctuation is a major turn off for many people. It’s easy to counter, too: Most modern browsers automatically underline spelling mistakes. If yours doesn’t simply copy and paste your answers into Word or a similar word processing program that checks for spelling and grammar errors – Easy!… and well worth the few moments of your time.

Christian Dating Tip #6: Express Your Faith

On Christian singles sites like ChristianCafe.com, there are short answer questions such as your favorite Bible verse (and why it speaks to you) or to describe where you are in your journey with God (and future goals in that regard). Be sure to make use of these questions to express what your Christian faith means to you! People flock to Christian dating sites such as ChristianCafe.com because meeting someone who shares their faith is uncompromisable in terms of finding their mate for life. Thus, expressing your Christian faith in your profile is something that you should spend time on and really think about. Answering questions such as the one mentioned above help with that.

Phew! Any More to Add?

Any other ideas? Please comment below. I’d love to hear what things you love seeing in other people’s dating profiles. Thanks!

Have you seen the new homepage for ChristianCafe.com? There were a few things we were trying to convey with it:

• emphasize what our Free Trial really means: Free communication for the entire time of the free trial. Free emailing, free winks, free IM. We are one of the (very) few online dating sites that offer this!
• the fact that ChristianCafe.com is truly Christian-owned. None of the other major Christian online dating sites are Christian-owned.
• a visual update. The old site was a bit dated, we admit.

We welcome your comments, below. Thanks!

One of our more recent Christian singles testimonials comes from Monica and Rick, both from the province of Ontario. Monica and Rick are now married after meeting on ChristianCafe.com!

Monica writes, “Instantly, in our email and instant messaging correspondence, we “clicked”, our conversation flowed so effortlessly! We met in person at my church service two weeks later and it has been no turning back since.”

Rick calls ChristianCafe.com “an awesome venue that provides single Christians an opportunity to meet in a safe and fun environment”, adding, “I tell everyone who will listen that while it’s difficult to wait, hold out for God’s best. If He has given you that desire he will fulfill it and it will be better than you could ever imagine!”

ChristianCafe.com co-founder and CEO, Sam Moorcroft, recently was interviewed by Cyber-Dating Expert Julie Spira. They talk about online dating trends, tips for online dating, and how ChristianCafe.com came about. The interview is embedded below. Enjoy!