For some women, their dreams of a fairytale romance begins with an accidental bump on the street. Or perhaps it begins with a mix-up at the deli. Or witty banter over a drink while bar-hopping with your girls.
But for us Christian women with slightly different standards, there aren’t many places where we can go to meet good Christian men. A bar isn’t the first choice for me to go and meet a potential husband/father. Accidentally bumping on the street isn’t an impossible situation, but odds lean towards the less-than-likely side. And although getting a number as a “thank you” for helping out said customer while at work in Express is flattering, it’s not quite the same for those of us who have, well, just different standards than most.
While pondering my current lack of places to meet a potential husband, I came up with a brilliant idea.
Church hopping.
That’s right. Church hopping. The Christian version of bar hopping.
My suggestion:
Google potential churches that have different service times. You can hit your traditional services in the early morning, rush over to the church with the late morning service, take part in another church’s small group that goes out to lunch afterwards. You then have approximately a few hours to go home, nap, and prepare for the evening to late night worship services.
In order to do this effectively, one must do research on which churches and services have a coffee/lunch/potluck hour. If you do your research well, you might be meeting the man you will spend the rest of your life with.
Start your morning off with coffee before the traditional service at the first pre-selected church. Perhaps the man with the coffee next to you might offer to pour you a cup. (Make sure to "conveniently" keep your hands full with your bible and purse.) Keep watch of his hands to see if they are shaking while pouring your cup - that could be a hint that he's into you. It also could mean he's had large quantities of caffeine already that morning. Next, you move onto the potluck at the next church’s late service. They always say food is the way to a man’s heart, so make sure to make up your own hotdish (yes, hotdish) and stand behind it and serve it. When the other ladies of the church ask you if you’re new, point to a guy and say “I’m his guest.” Those ladies will then swarm said man and ask tons of questions, which will of course peak his curiosity and ask you on a date…and of course try your amazing tater-tot hotdish. End the late morning/early afternoon portion with a full lunch at small group for the third church of the day. (Keep in mind not to eat any of your own hotdish from before. It'd be a shame to be too full to attend lunch.) Lunch is always a great way to get to know people. So go to the local Perkin’s, Applebee’s, or IHOP afterwards with that small group in your age bracket... and make sure to sit next to both the guy that catches your eye and the girl who looks like your next best friend. Having a girl confidant to subtly ask questions about said man next to you is a good way to get to know that man. Who needs 1-on-1 conversation when you can get the inside scoop from your soon-to-be bestie?
Make sure to take a break in the afternoon. You’ll need to figure out a good concoction for the extra-socialization hangover. Be careful not to socialize too much without taking the proper precautions. Most importantly, always have a friend to call to drive you to said events in case of too much socialization.
Come evening, drink tea at the first evening services’ pre-service fellowship. The tea-thing can come in handy, because if you typically don’t drink tea, you will need a proper tea expert (such as the man again standing next to you) to ask about which tea to try, how strong to make it, and which tea would be the most proper to have on a date. Finally go for a late night jaunt to Caribou with the people from the late night vesper’s service, because they will certainly need some caffeine for the late night study session for their next exam. Of course, this only works at Bethel and if you are a college student. But hey, you might just snag a Bethel Sem student in the process.
And as most shampoo bottles say:
“lather, rinse and repeat as necessary.”
Ok, so take out the lather and rinse, but you must still repeat as necessary with different churches until you find that soul mate.
*note: none of these theories have been tested or proven to be even the least bit effective. But if someone wants to try them, I’d be willing to accompany them.*
But for us Christian women with slightly different standards, there aren’t many places where we can go to meet good Christian men. A bar isn’t the first choice for me to go and meet a potential husband/father. Accidentally bumping on the street isn’t an impossible situation, but odds lean towards the less-than-likely side. And although getting a number as a “thank you” for helping out said customer while at work in Express is flattering, it’s not quite the same for those of us who have, well, just different standards than most.
While pondering my current lack of places to meet a potential husband, I came up with a brilliant idea.
Church hopping.
That’s right. Church hopping. The Christian version of bar hopping.
My suggestion:
Google potential churches that have different service times. You can hit your traditional services in the early morning, rush over to the church with the late morning service, take part in another church’s small group that goes out to lunch afterwards. You then have approximately a few hours to go home, nap, and prepare for the evening to late night worship services.
In order to do this effectively, one must do research on which churches and services have a coffee/lunch/potluck hour. If you do your research well, you might be meeting the man you will spend the rest of your life with.
Start your morning off with coffee before the traditional service at the first pre-selected church. Perhaps the man with the coffee next to you might offer to pour you a cup. (Make sure to "conveniently" keep your hands full with your bible and purse.) Keep watch of his hands to see if they are shaking while pouring your cup - that could be a hint that he's into you. It also could mean he's had large quantities of caffeine already that morning. Next, you move onto the potluck at the next church’s late service. They always say food is the way to a man’s heart, so make sure to make up your own hotdish (yes, hotdish) and stand behind it and serve it. When the other ladies of the church ask you if you’re new, point to a guy and say “I’m his guest.” Those ladies will then swarm said man and ask tons of questions, which will of course peak his curiosity and ask you on a date…and of course try your amazing tater-tot hotdish. End the late morning/early afternoon portion with a full lunch at small group for the third church of the day. (Keep in mind not to eat any of your own hotdish from before. It'd be a shame to be too full to attend lunch.) Lunch is always a great way to get to know people. So go to the local Perkin’s, Applebee’s, or IHOP afterwards with that small group in your age bracket... and make sure to sit next to both the guy that catches your eye and the girl who looks like your next best friend. Having a girl confidant to subtly ask questions about said man next to you is a good way to get to know that man. Who needs 1-on-1 conversation when you can get the inside scoop from your soon-to-be bestie?
Make sure to take a break in the afternoon. You’ll need to figure out a good concoction for the extra-socialization hangover. Be careful not to socialize too much without taking the proper precautions. Most importantly, always have a friend to call to drive you to said events in case of too much socialization.
Come evening, drink tea at the first evening services’ pre-service fellowship. The tea-thing can come in handy, because if you typically don’t drink tea, you will need a proper tea expert (such as the man again standing next to you) to ask about which tea to try, how strong to make it, and which tea would be the most proper to have on a date. Finally go for a late night jaunt to Caribou with the people from the late night vesper’s service, because they will certainly need some caffeine for the late night study session for their next exam. Of course, this only works at Bethel and if you are a college student. But hey, you might just snag a Bethel Sem student in the process.
And as most shampoo bottles say:
“lather, rinse and repeat as necessary.”
Ok, so take out the lather and rinse, but you must still repeat as necessary with different churches until you find that soul mate.
*note: none of these theories have been tested or proven to be even the least bit effective. But if someone wants to try them, I’d be willing to accompany them.*
