It was about three and a half years ago that I found ChristianCafe.com and decided to create a profile.
I talked to a few Cafe female members, but it was always quickly obvious there just wasn't a connection. I was about to just let my subscription run out when I got a very simple message: "Hi, I like your hair." I had my cursor over the delete button, but then I had second thoughts.
I should at least reply and see what happens. The lady and I began chatting online for a few weeks, found out we had a lot in common, and agreed to meet at a coffee shop in Nashville.
I arrived early to make a good impression, got my coffee and found a seat by the window.
There was a newspaper someone had left on the ground near my seat, so I reached down to pick it up. By doing so my foot hit the base of the table, tipping it and sending the full cup of nutmeg flavored coffee flying into my lap.
Of course, the entire place went silent for a second, everyone looking in my direction as I stood there with coffee dripping from the front of my khaki pants. I was so embarrassed I was shaking, I almost left right then.
Instead, I phoned the lady and explained the situation. She tried hard not to laugh, but I could tell she was holding laughter back. When we hung up I called a friend of mine who lived a few blocks away.
He didn't try not to laugh, he didn't really hold back at all. By this time I'm laughing about it myself. He said he had some clothes for me and to come by when my date got there.
By this time she was walking in the door and for an instant I forgot all about the embarrassing stain on my pants and the strong odor of nutmeg that I was wearing.
My date was very cool about the situation, so we left the shop and headed to my friend's apartment. As we crossed the street she took my arm, and I knew then that she was The One.
She told me later that when she saw me she had the feeling this was the last first date she would ever have. My friend gave me his clothes and I quickly changed in his back room. We left and went to a different coffee shop and had a wonderful evening.
As I write tonight, we are celebrating our one year wedding anniversary. We are very happy together and we look forward to many more happy years. God answered both of our prayers and I believed he used ChristianCafe.com to bring us together.
The friend who loaned me his clothes also joined the Cafe. Not long after he caught the garter at our wedding, he met a wonderful girl and they are now engaged.
We thank God first for our relationship, but also thanks to ChristianCafe.com for creating a great place for Christians to meet quality people and enhance their lives.
David {Tennessee} & Bethany {Tennessee} April 2006
Back in December 2003, Chris and I met on your website. We both lived in Philadelphia, PA and were so excited to start a friendship after reading each other's profile.
We quickly fell in love and in July 2005 we got married.
Thank you so much for the wonderful service you provide Christian singles. God bless you!
Chris-mcfcfowler450 {Pennsylvania} & Sarah-sarahbeth952 {Pennsylvania} April 2006
Nicolas was a member of ChristianCafe.com during the months of March through May 2005.
He and I were both in trial memberships when we first met, and continued to correspond throughout the 3 months that we had paid memberships. Nicolas is from Michigan, I was from Texas, and I was convinced that our friendship would never amount to much because of the distance.
God obviously had another plan, because that 3 month long friendship, via our Cafe messages and telephone calls, turned into a deep friendship that ultimately lead us to engagement.
By July 31, 2005, we were engaged and planning a wedding!
I gave my two weeks notice at my job and relocated to the Detroit, Michigan area and moved in with his grandparents who lived about 20 minutes from his home. For the next 6 months, God began an incredible work in our lives together and drew us closer than ever before. On January 28, 2006, Nicolas and I were married in San Antonio, Texas, my hometown.
I am very blessed to have him in my life, and equally indebted to ChristianCafe.com for being the vessel that God used to bring us together.
We are currently in Ministry together at First Spanish Baptist Church in Auburn Hills, Michigan. We lead the congregation into the presence of God on Sunday evenings through praise and worship, and also lead the singles ministry on the weekends.
We are two very blessed persons, two people who were saved by grace and pursued by a very living God who wouldn't let us go until He had us in His perfect will.
It's a wonderful thing being in His perfect will!
Monica {Texas} & Nicolas {Michigan} April 2006
Well three months later I found ChristianCafe.com and logged into a Chat room looking for some friends. I met a guy and we started to talk.
I read his profile and the only drawback was that he lived in California and I live in North Carolina. I really enjoyed talking to him because we had so much in common.
A few weeks later I started to fall in love with him, but I was scared because I have never done the Internet dating thing before. He would send me flowers every month and eventually he bought me a cell phone so we could hear each other's voices. I had never been so happy until I started to talk to him.
In July he flew down here so we could meet for the first time. I was so nervous and so was he. My Mom, sister and her husband picked him up for me at the airport because I had to work that evening. I met him face to face at the hotel he would be staying in. I was so happy and crying and so was he. We went to Virginia to my sister and her husband's apartment for the weekend. That was the best weekend of my life because he proposed to me there. He stayed for two weeks and then left to go back home.
The next three months were hard because seeing someone you love face to face for only two weeks and him leaving to go back home just killed me and him. In September I flew to California to meet his family for two weeks. His family greeted me with so much love. His Mom took me shopping, let me use her car, threw a birthday party for me and a wedding shower. We both flew back down together and looked for a house.
We were married November 25th, 2005 at my home church. His whole family flew or drove cross country to see us get married. It was a beautiful ceremony.
Today we have been married for four months and I am the happiest woman alive. Thank you so much ChristianCafe.com for everything you have done. I have recommended a lot of people to your website.
Kimberly {North Carolina} & Husband {California} April 2006
We met online during the summer of 2004 and have been in love ever since.
Thank you very much for organizing an online dating service that aligns fellow Christians together. The Cafe has truly brought happiness to us. Our wedding is scheduled for August 26, 2006.
Ryan-blueskies965 {New Hampshire} & Lisa April 2006
We were married November 2002, and are coming up on our 4th anniversary this November.
Keep looking and you'll find your Red Head!
Jim & Barbara-blondeblue162 April 2006
Last June, I saw a very interesting profile of jway893 on the Cafe. She lived a little over half an hour from me, so I contacted her.
She wrote back to me the same day, and after a day of messaging each other in Christian Cafe, we were emailing each other outside Christian Cafe. Two weeks later, I told her that I'd like to meet her and she replied that she'd also like to meet me, so we exchanged phone numbers.
After a few phone calls, I suggested we meet for a light lunch, and was hoping we could go for a nice walk after. We agreed to meet at a restaurant near where she lived in a couple of days.
The day we met, it was raining heavily, and I saw her car and walked over to her and we walked into the restaurant together under my umbrella. We had a very pleasant "get-acquainted" time together, and each of us felt a strong attraction to the other right away.
Since I was starting to a lead a small group Bible study, I asked her if there was a Christian bookstore nearby, and I followed her there where I was able to look over some materials.
We saw each other many times over last summer and felt the Lord drawing us closer to each other. We saw so many things that attracted us to each other, the main one was that we each recognized that the Lord was Number One in the other's life. After a month and a half of dating, we agreed that we were courting, spending time together to see if the Lord wanted to join us as husband and wife.
Last December 8, exactly 5 months after our first date, I told her that there's only one thing I'd want to change about her, that her last name be the same as mine (smile). When she said she would like that, I asked her to marry me, and she said Yes.
We will be married on July 15, 2006.
We feel that it was the Lord who brought us together and nurtured our love for each other into the love of a husband and a wife. We feel that that Lord can and will use any means He chooses to accomplish His purposes, including using the Internet.
He has blessed us both so wonderfully and we look forward to the day when He joins us together for the rest of our lives.
The pictures included are from after we'd been dating for about 2 months, and from our first Christmas together, 2005.
Gene & Jean-jway893 April 2006
In September 2005 my fiance and I met in the Cafe, and we are getting married May 20, 2006!
I only got on ChristianCafe.com to find and make fun of my Mom's profile. However almost right away one guy kept sending me messages.
So, I figured I'd give it a shot, and he's absolutely wonderful. He just relocated from St. Louis to Chicago and we're getting married next month!!
Emily-ejs622 April 2006
I was first enlightened about ChristianCafe.com when I read an article in [a Christian magazine] that explained clearly how the site operates and how it has been effective for people who use it wisely.
The lengths you go to protect your users is commendable. I would not have signed up if I did not feel a certain degree of safety beforehand.
Finding a balance between taking a risk and maintaining high standards is still achievable. Thanks for your help and suggestions! I have met a lot of really solid Christians in the Cafe.
Melanie-melmall591 {Nova Scotia} April 2006
For someone being new to all this, Cafe staff made it easy. My gratitude always.
Michael-hollywood349 {California} April 2006
We are both greatly indebted to all the people at the Cafe who made it possible for us to meet.
Jason-beethoven271 {Maryland} April 2006
[Editor's note: See June 2007 for a wedding photo and September 2007 for Jason's 3rd anniversary follow up!]
I met Patrick immediately when I joined the Cafe. Since then, I have been the happiest I've ever been in my life.
I'm now officially a true believer of online dating and of love.
Thank you for your ministry. I'll keep spreading the word about ChristianCafe.com!
Stephanie-steph {British Columbia} April 2006
I met my husband on your site in March 2004, and met him in person three weeks later. We were married in March 2005 and just celebrated our first anniversary.
We never would have met without the Cafe. We had lots of fun telling our friends how we met!
A Christian site is such an incredible difference from all the other offers out there. To meet a match that shares your faith and goals is such a blessing.
Emily-emily585 {Illinois} & Matt April 2006