"Anyone that needs to use one must be sad" - this is often said about the people that use dating agencies which is really completely unfounded. My own exprience is that people who use dating agencies do so for many reasons. But then having an introduction agency for christians - I'm abnormal right?;-) ... I figured, we pay for everything else and as Im so busy, why not pay a professional company to actively seek out a genuinely good match?

So who uses dating agencies?
Once I started meeting people I realised they like me, were just unable to meet the right kind of people - or just plain busy and didnt fancy running around. They were nearly all proffessional and could all hold their own in conversation. Many were witty and some ran their own businesses. I didnt meet one 'sad' person. Surprise!

Do dating agencies really work?
For many people - but not everyone. It really depends on your reason for joining and a certain amount of luck that decides if it was a success or not. Not everyone wants to get married for instance. I was certainly not lookng for marriage - but someone who had a lot in common and was fun. And that I found. I am still good friends with one girl who owned her own recruitment business that I met using one of the London dating agencies. I consider it a sucess because I learned more about myself and what I like and a little training is great for when I finally met the right one.

Traditional dating agencies - 2 UK agencies reviewed
The ones that have been around for years. To see how they worked and if they were effective I joined 2 traditional Christian dating agencies.

'New Day Introductions' - which I heard about via a friend turned out to be a great servic ein view of the fact that they didnt't charge the earth. I contacted them and after discussing and filling in a preferences form I was contacted several times by a pleasant lady who ran the service about potential dates. I felt slightly awkward explaining what I wanted but in the end I thought - life is short - who cares what people think! It actually takes more guts to join one than to talk negatively about them. And this is when my view of people that use dating agencies started to change.

'Choices - for Christians who would never join a dating agency' - apart from sounding like a pet food, this is one of the posh London dating agencies that appeared to pride itself on the fact that it's members were all professional - upwardly mobile if you get the meaning. True - the people I met were interesting and again had good jobs, homes and businesses. It was however expensive. £500 for what turned out to be 5 dates. Though I gather that the work involved in matching people is quite intensive - still - not £500. I didn't meet my match and felt slightly overcharged, but it was my gamble and many I found out met this way and were in good relationships. Can't argue.

Online Dating Agencies - which? reviews & views
Dating online is big business and new dating sites spring up every day. To the the point where it is difficult to decide which way to go. There are actually hardly any genuinely free dating sites despite the fact that most offer a 'free' period after which a charge of anything up to $30 per month but will unhesitatingly describe themselves as 'completely free'. This is just a technique to get a site listed when someone searches the Internet for 'FREE dating' using Google or Yahoo for instance. The reason sites are not free is simply to cover costs but some cost the earth!

Christian Dating Sites & Service Reviews >>

What about the best sites for dating Christians?
Type in 'Christian Dating' to Altavista.com or Google. For a number of reasons it is a fact that although the big non-Christian sites have massive membership - Christians avoid them. Christians want to date Christians - and so look for real Christian sites. The genuinely Christian sites have the most Christian members for sure. Try yourself. Click here for our view of the best Christian Dating 'Pay as you go' sites

Are there any Genuinely free online dating sites?
Virtually all the non-Christian singles sites and most Christian singles sites are pay as you go. Fewer are one off payment sites but almost none are actually free. We have however found a few good free sites that you might try. Click here for genuinely free Christian singles & dating sites

Which are the biggest dating sites?
The big sites - Match.com for example claim to have millions of members. Whilst the actual figures are more like hundreds of thousands - dating databases become 'inactive' after a 2-3 year period and with the explosion of dating sites on the net the numbers on each site are getting diluted. The biggest sites will also claim to be the 'best place for meeting Christian singles' but this is just everyone trying to get a bit of the action. Still if your not looking to date Christians then these big sites are your best bet. They do indeed have many members. Click here for a list of some of the biggest secular dating agencies.

So what's best - traditional introductions or on-line dating agencies?
Online! The choices per amount payed far outweigh the traditional approach. But, if you are looking for a extra special, personal service, where someone actually goes out and finds someone with your preferences with you in mind - then traditional is the way to go.

Finally...
Remember when using any of these singles services that it should be done with an open mind. Think fun. Do not expect the earth but be open to meeting new and exiting people as you never know what God has planned. Take each date as a learning experience and work on improving your interpersonal skills so you are ready when Mr or Mrs right come along unexpectedly! It is now a fact that many many people have met their perfect match using the Interenet or with a traditional dating aagency so our advice is definitely give it a go.

Christian Dating Agencies - christian dvice .net 2002