FAITH TODAY -- Mar/Apr Issue -- Christians collectively spend millions of dollars searching for that special someone on the Internet. Amid 700 websites offering dating and matchmaking, what's a good single Christian to do? "I always tell people they should consider what their preferences are," says Mark Brooks, editor of www.OnlinePersonalsWatch.com. "If you really want to meet someone who is Christian, you can go on Match and Yahoo and say, 'I'm a Christian and I want to meet a Christian.' If you're open to receiving communications from people who aren't Christian, then by all means use a general site." Despite filters and preferences, most sites don't tease out non-Christians. That's where the niche sites come in. ChristianCafe.com (in partnership with Christianity.ca), Singlec.com, ChristianityToday.com. "The market is simply oversaturated," says Sam Moorcroft, founder and president of ChristianCafe.com. "A lot of companies got into it thinking it's easy, which isn't true." "This is a very 'sexy' business," says Brooks. "It's like opening a restaurant. It's very appealing, like you're doing humanity a great service, but it's tougher than it looks." ChristianCafe.com tallies 100,000 active members within a three-month timeframe and grosses seven figures with 10-12 employees.
The full article was originally published at Christianity.ca, but is no longer available.
