UK Christian Fellowship and Dating

Creating an engaging dating profile can be a challenge. How much should you say? What should you hold back? Should you lay out your non-negotiables at the start – or at all? Does it matter if you have a photo? As part of our 25th birthday celebrations, we offered Christian Connection members the opportunity to apply for a profile review: the chance for our team to go through existing profiles and offer tips and suggestions for a refresh. While each profile is personal to it’s creator, there are some tips that work for everyone.

The photos you choose for your dating profile are the first impression you create, and shape how others see you - and often whether they decide to say hello. Profiles with photos receive far more attention, so how can you choose something that really stands out? Will rushed selfies or group shots do the trick? Or that flattering holiday pic from 10 years ago? Here are our top tips to help you choose the best dating profile photos and put your best face forward!

In an ideal world, our date would live close by, we’d see them often and we’d build a relationship over time. Realistically, though - and especially in today’s online world - we might meet someone who lives far away, leading to the prospect of a long distance relationship. So, can a relationship thrive across the miles and what are the upsides and the pitfalls of long-distance love?

Online dating opens up a whole new world to us, full of people from places and walks of life we’d never otherwise encounter. It’s one of the most exciting things about meeting someone online: an opportunity to learn, to grow, and to glimpse something of the divine in each of us. Many couples who met on Christian Connection say that they’d never have run into each other ‘offline’. Their paths were simply too different to have met. However, can also present the scenario of encountering people with beliefs that we might find hard to understand and the choice of dating with different values. We live in times when differences of opinion can feel like fault lines rather than bridges, and when screens separate us it can be especially easy for misunderstandings or conflict to creep in.

Christian Connection blogger Urenna regularly shares thoughtful advice and wisdom, but until now hasn't shared the story of how met her husband Rob on the site! “I joined CC because I wanted to meet a fellow Christian to date and hopefully get married. A couple of friends had met their spouses online and urged me to give it a try, so I prayed and took the leap and I’m glad I did!"

Picture the scene: you’ve had an excellent first date with someone, you really like them, and you want to meet them again - but you are complete opposites in one area. One of you is an introvert and the other is an extrovert. We’ve all heard the term ‘opposites attract’ when it comes to dating – how can it work when you might be different in this area? What should you consider when thinking about extrovert / introvert dating?

Deciding how to spend your first date or a long awaited afternoon together can be tricky, but we're here to help! Here's the final part of our A-Z of of tried and tested, real life Christian Connection couples’ dating ideas. From T to Z, #MetOnCC couples share the activities that helped them get to know each other. What would you add to the list of #MetOnCC date ideas? 

When you start looking for a partner online, it’s easy to focus on the earliest stages of connecting: do you like each other’s pictures? Do your locations and other preferences match up and, of course, do they like you in return? But what about once those early checkpoints are all ticked off? To form a meaningful, lasting connection you’re going to want to really get to know each other, and when you’ve started out as strangers, sometimes it’s hard to know where or how to begin. The good news is that there are lots of small, simple ways to connect right from the start and bring out the best in your date.

First dates are about first impressions and it’s normal to feel nervous when meeting someone for the first time. We might feel that we have to perform or sell ourselves in some way. But once we’re over this initial hurdle and have agreed to meet again, how do we have a great second date? Here are six tips to set you up for a fruitful second encounter, starting with that crucial period in between dates.

Imagine you’re on a first date with someone you’ve been messaging on Christian Connection. You’re both looking your best, confidence growing, and the chat is flowing, when suddenly your glass of water is knocked over. Is it a disaster, or a memorable moment you’ll both laugh about later? When online dating feels too serious or intense, every little mishap can seem like a setback. But taking a lighter approach to those moments can turn them into opportunities to connect. Studies have shown that a sense of humour is one of the top qualities that online daters are looking for, and moments like these can be a great chance to let yours shine. So how can dating with humour help you?