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Our Christian Dating Story

Our Christian Dating story begins when Heavenly Partners was established in 2017 following the huge success of Heavenly Partners in the UK, read our Christian Dating story to find out more.

Having been part of an annual church weekend (St. John’s church in Birmingham) away and listened to Elaine Storkey (theologian and sociologist) speak powerfully about how single church member’s needs are not being met. As Katharine was reflecting on the weekend, she discussed the topic with friends and family, it became very obvious that many single Christians in churches do not have the opportunity to mix with other single Christians apart from those they already know. When you also add in to the pot that people are very busy, work longer hours, dealing with the stigma that can come from previous past or broken relationships and also naturally diminishing friendship circumstances, it occurred to Katharine, that maybe there was more the church could do. She took it upon herself and spent a few months speaking to a large number or vicars, parish priests, pastors and church leaders all based in the West Midlands to see if offering an introduction service for single Christians would be welcomed. She was thrilled that she was met with such a positive response and many of the people she spoke to would support something to help single Christians as well as pray for them.

Katharine decided this was something that she would like to do and after thinking very hard, she finally decided on the name friendsfirst as she truly believes friendship is the best basis to any relationship and we would not be human without relationships.

Friendsfirst was established in 1999 and launched in January 2000, it did not take long for people to get in touch in response to the first notices going out. It became very obvious to Katharine that this was going to be a very important service to single Christians. It also made her heart swell with pride when people also began leaving the organisation as their lives had been changed, this made it concrete clear that what she was doing was certainly worthwhile! Since the launch of friendsfirst, the organisation it has grown with ever increasing success. Over the years the team has grown, we have seen thousands of friendships formed, and had hundreds of relationships and marriages to celebrate. Heavenly Partners has also added many strings to it bow by looking at teaching and giving our members the skills to be successful. Katharine has personally launched and hosted many successful ‘Mastermind’ courses over the years and launched the Dating academy in 2017 with success.

After a recent visit to Ireland, visiting churches and meeting with vicars, priests and local ministers, it occurred to her that Irelands single Christians were also in the same predicament where there was not service to help single Christians meet other single Christians who hold the same beliefs and values. This is when Heavenly partners was born and after lots of research and hard work, launched in 2017.

Katharine and her team continue in their mission of bringing single Christians together, teaching, educating and providing the best resources to help any single Christian, regardless of age, marital status and denomination.

The Heavenly Partners Principle

Heavenly partners is run by Christians for Christians offering an introduction service for Ireland and the UK.

We welcome unattached Christians with a variety of different backgrounds, denomination and age. Heavenly partners puts it members in the center of everything they do and have an approachable and friendly team available to offer advice and support throughout your membership. It is a membership only organisation with annual paid fees.

The concept of Heavenly partners is based on the same successful concept of Heavenly Partners . It allows people to make contact with other members whose profile they have seen and find interesting. We believe that friendship is the crucial basis in which a successful relationship can then be formed. We also recognized that the world has changed and in today’s fast paced world, it can be very difficult to meet new friends and long term partners.

The Procedure

Each member is required to complete an application allowing us to write a summary covering members’ backgrounds, denomination, beliefs, interests, hobbies, likes and dislikes along with who they are looking to meet. This is then distributed to other members within the chosen age band. The profiles also provide a choice of ways to contact other members, either by Box number (issued by Heavenly partners), email, or telephone. You can choose how many options you show on your profile, until you are comfortable to release further details.

When you receive profiles you are free to make you own choice of who you will contact, we do not ‘matchmake’ specifically in our membership packages although we do offer this service separately. Heavenly partners offer a service which put the members in control but unlike online dating companies, we support our members and are available on the telephone to offer advice and to give coaching where required.

Security

We require every member to provide us with a form of identification to certify that they are who they say they are. You won’t find fake profiles or profiles of people who don’t exist here. This helps protect the security and wellbeing of each of our members which is a top priority of ours. We also provide ‘Box numbers’ in replacement of address’ to keep our members personal details secure until they are happy to disclose these details themselves. Some members may be high profile or well known in a particular area so we offer the option of having a nickname on your profile.

Who is involved with Heavenly Partners?

There are a number of people who have been involved in bringing Heavenly partners to Ireland, some of which you may speak to and others who work very hard in the background to ensure your membership works for you. They are:

Katharine Gray – Managing Director

Sacha Jorden – Enquirers Manager

Jo Marriott – Enquirers Manager

Sarah Rodger – Membership Manager

Ella Jordan – Social Media and Webwork

Charles Ferguson MW – Head of Credit Control

Read More

How to be the One

Serious about relationships - then this book is for you!

“ I love talking to you. You are so understanding ”

(Diana, Auxiliary Nurse)

“I have found it very easy to contact you. Having contact with you really personalises your service. Your service is very friendly and supportive and has given me confidence. I […]

(Monica, University Lecturer)

”I’m really interested and pleased with your service. It’s excellent , I think. I’m just about to follow some things through now”

(Kirsty, Nursery School Head Teacher)

“The service you offer is far superior than others I’ve come across on the internet.”

(female)

How to be the One

Serious about relationships - then this book is for you!