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It's ironic that I met Jake at a church, considering he's not a Christian. But that's where it all started—in a church sanctuary at a wedding for someone we both knew.

During one part of the service, I was scanning the crowd—and Jake, in his dark suit and preppy glasses, definitely caught my attention. I figured out that he was a friend of some friends, and I was glad when he sat next to me at the reception. Sitting there in the church basement with friends and family, I enjoyed chatting with this funny, talkative, well-dressed guy. He was charming; even some parents at the table thought he was great. So when he asked if he could call me sometime, I did a mental dance of joy and gave him my number.

The next time I saw Jake was at a dinner with some friends. Jake and some of the guys told stories about stupid things they'd done while drunk. I knew they were exaggerating a bit to impress and/or shock us girls, but I still should have been turned off. But for some inexplicable reason, I was still attracted to him.

Several days later, Jake called. He wanted to get together for coffee—not a date, just a casual thing. I almost didn't go. But I'm a Starbucks junkie and was touched by Jake's thoughtfulness, since he doesn't even drink coffee. So I went—and I discovered Jake is very intelligent, says nice things about his family, and is easy to talk to. But. … not a Christian.

That should have put an end to my attraction. But I was drawn by Jake's interest in me. He was one of the "cool kids," and until then, nobody from that group seemed to notice I was even alive. Here was a tall, dark, handsome guy from the popular crowd showing interest in goodie-two-shoes me! Of course I was flattered!

In the months that followed, Jake and I exchanged flirty e-mails. Since he lived a couple towns away, we didn't actually see each other much. But I did hang out with Jake and his friends a few times. When they started talking about drinking, I got silent. And when they talked about that time they went to Hooters, I gave a "girl-power" speech about women not being sex objects. But my "speech" never got around to the most important thing I could have said—that we're made in God's image. Jake and his buddies just sorta winked at each other and teased me about it.

Part of me knew right then that I should stop hanging out with Jake and his friends. But another part of me thought that maybe this was God's answer to my prayer for more non-Christian friends to share my faith with. I was confused.

Then Jake asked me out on an "official" date. Not just dinner and a movie, but to join him and his family and friends for a weekend at a rented beach house. Suddenly, this wasn't so casual anymore.

When Maggie, a church friend and a hopeless romantic, heard about this, she thought a whole weekend together would be a great opportunity to share my faith. But I had the feeling the weekend would be less "Kum-ba-yah" and more "keg city" once the adults went to bed. Max, my best guy friend, told me to run as fast as I could in the other direction—not just from this invitation, but from Jake. But I wondered what that would communicate about God's unconditional love for all people—especially those who don't know him.

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