McLaren creates online Christian dating service - Aimed at fostering wholesome relationships
Published:Sunday | January 31, 2021 | 8:54 AMShanna Kaye Monteith - Sunday Gleaner Writer
Born out of a desire to help single Seventh-day Adventists form wholesome relationships that would eventually lead to marriage, the Christian dating service called Jamaican Adventist (JA) Singles was launched.
Though a separate entity from the church, the organisation is run by a Seventh-day Adventist administrator and seeks to involve the churches of the individuals who utilise its services by requesting verification of their membership.
This, according to founder and director Randy McLaren, not only fosters legitimacy, trust, and altruism between JA Singles and its subscribers, but also between subscriber and his or her fellow potential partner.
McLaren said the dating service, which is officially registered in the United Kingdom, was launched online in Jamaica on November 7, 2020, and is supported and endorsed by various directors of Family Life for the Jamaica Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
McLaren, who described the system as a ministry, said: “We presently specialise in connecting single Seventh-day Adventists and recently started to offer our services to other baptised Christian singles of other denominations. But we don’t mix the two. We only connect Seventh-day Adventists with Seventh-day Adventists. That is because other than being a service, we are also a ministry, and the Bible exhorts us not to be unequally yoked.
“As a ministry, we frequently post Biblical and practical messages on relationship and everyday issues a Christian single will contemplate and offer practical and biblical advice. Since our launch, we hosted two official online presentations: ‘Singles and Sexuality’, done by Pastor Adrian Johnson; and ‘Right Woman, Wrong Man; Right Man, Wrong Woman’, done by Pastor Ramone Phoenix.”
The director of JA Singles told Family & Religion that as a service, the company currently offers three types of one-time subscriptions to its audiences, including a search for someone, which he referred to as ‘the prescribed character trait and values’ on behalf of the subscriber; a reserved space on a list to be chosen once a match is made; and a Single of the Day feature, whereby the subscriber is featured on the site’s social media pages for 24 hours.
BEAUTIFUL WEBSITE
He shared also that “coming [at the end of] February 2021, is our most beautiful website for Adventists and other Christian singles, where upon paying a monthly subscription fee, they will be able to meet and greet on their own, but without the guarantee of a church verification of members. However, we will still maintain our three one-time subscription options for persons who would like that convenience. But for those who prefer a dating site and to control who they meet on their own, we have worked hard on and are preparing a website”.
McLaren revealed that though recently started, JA Singles has already made several happy connections.
According to him, “we are awaiting the marriage part of same, but we are quite happy and satisfied with making happy connections with the right traits to coexist. The rest is up to the individuals and God”.
He continued: “At Connection, each individual is told and agrees that the person connected with is not their partner but merely a ‘connection’ from which a fruitful relationship may be formed if they so desire or go their separate ways after an agreed amount of days. JA Singles strongly believes that the family is at the heart of everything in society and the country whether for good or bad. If we can have a good family, we can have good children, and in turn, a good society. This means less violence and more productive behaviour. So we are not only moving from a biblical or religious standpoint, we are being practical. For us, if people have coinciding values, they are more likely to gel with each other. Thus they will have a more sustained and happy relationship … which leads to a sustained and happy society. As such, values are one of the main things we take into consideration when connecting individuals.”