Surf Here Often?
Online matchmaking is changing the Christian dating game
Amber L. Anderson | posted 6/11/2001 12:00AM
4 of 4
Copyright © 2001 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere
Internet matchmaking sites vary in the services they offer and the amount of detail they provide about members. Here's a rundown of the most-visited Christian sites.
ChristianDate.com: Claiming 28,000 members, it's one of the few totally free sites.
ChristianMatchMaker.com: A nine-page questionnaire asks everything from preference in pets to willingness to relocate.
ChristianCafé.com: Features 75,000 profiles and 25,000 active members.
EquallyYoked.com: Unlike most sites, the emphasis here is not solely on building romantic relationships.
ChristianSingles.com: Allows members to include an audio or video clip with their profile.
Christianhearts.com: Encourages online dating by allowing members to play games (Four in a Row, Battleship) online with other single Christians.
In articles appearing on our site yesterday, Lauren Winner examined the church's ministry to single people while Margaret Feinberg reported on evangelism efforts targeting singles.
An article on Christian dating books and an interview with Joshua Harris (I Kissed Dating Goodbye) will appear on our site later this week.
A British Christian matchmaking site, Christian Connection, has received attention from The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, and other media—most recently for finding wives for local clergy.
"Uncomfortable with local bar scenes, restless in the social circles of their own churches, single Christians by the tens of thousands are flocking to Internet services offering the prospect of spiritually correct matchmaking," The Associated Press recently reported.
Christian Computing magazine also profiled matchmaking sites in its June 1998 issue, and the Canadian Press examined the phenomenon last July.
The film You've Got Mail caused several publications, including The Christian Science Monitor, to look at digital romances.
At Breakpoint Online, Julia Duin argued Christian churches should learn from Jewish matchmaking practices.
ChristianityToday.com's singles area has articles from many Christianity Today sister publications of interest to unmarried Christians, including Camerin Courtney's "Single Minded" column.
Christianity Today's earlier coverage of Christian single life includes
Sex and the Single Christian | What about the unmarried in their postcollege years? (July 7, 2000))
Women Churchgoers 'Face Growing Difficulty in Finding Partner | British magazine says church is out of single men, especially older ones. (June 7, 2000)
RSS Feeds
Audio
Twitter
share this page
E-mail
Print
Post
Subscribe to Christianity Today magazine today!
