We are often asked how successful friendsfirst is?
If you judge success by the number of marriages we've had then we are very successful. And if you add in the numbers of people making new friends (which is what some people join for) then it's even better
For more details of couples stories
> click here
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Enhance your social skills!
Would you like to be better at meeting people, feel more confident and do it more often? We've teamed up with The Dating Doctor giving you preferential rates on a whole range of his services.
For more details.
> click here
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Enquirers Newsletter February 2010
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friends1st's 21st Newsletter
Exciting times
February, 2010 - Issue 21
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 Welcome to friends1st's 21st newsletter and especially if you are a new subscriber.
This is an exciting time for us - not only have we just celebrated our 10th birthday, we've just been featured on National Radio - Radio 4 - last Sunday; and we've recently taken over the introductions and dating side of Network Christians resulting in our numbers increasing.
As always we also hope this newsletter and the articles in it will give you useful information.
With best wishes,
Katharine Gray - Director, and the team at friends1st
P.S Don't forget - we are here to help you - if you want to chat about being single and how we can help, just give us a call on 0121 427 1286. |
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friends1st's News
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If you listen to BBC Radio 4 and the Sunday programme, then last Sunday - St. Valentine's Day - you may have heard the feature on faith and dating. The whole programme kicked off with a comment from me and then a discussion about why it's hard for Christians to find soul mates or partners at church and why agencies like friends1st are so popular. It also featured one of our members, Stephanie, who got married 2 years ago through us, and generally was a great boost for friends1st which we're very proud about! If you missed the interview you can hear it up to 20th February on BBC iplayer - or just click this link http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00qm35y and move the programme to 31:07 minutes through.
St. Valentine's Day was actually a very busy day for me as I had Radio interviews with both Radio Kent and Radio West Midlands as well. The Radio Kent one is well worth listening too - not least to hear ex member Brian talk about his experiences with us. Click here to hear it (and move the programme to 1:17:50). The Radio 4 interview was pre-recorded but it went out at the same time as I was doing the West Midlands radio interview - so perhaps one can be in two places at the same time after all!
Our 10th year anniversary
Last month we celebrated our 10th birthday. It's been an amazing 10 years of growth in so many different ways - not just of a small business to a large one, moving offices as we've grown; and all the fun we've all had. We've had some great staff working with us and constant blessings from God. All the positive feedback has kept us going and we still whoop with joy when people ring us up to tell us they have got or are getting married. There's no 'job satisfaction' in the world like it I don't think - and of course the bigger we get, the more often it happens. Hallelujah.
We've seen the 'dating' industry change massively in the 10 years we've been going - not least as the internet has grown and internet dating sites and social networking sites have become extremely popular. However, very early on we decided not to go down this route because we know that our business is 100% people focused and that having someone to talk to, to be encouraged by (and sometimes pushed by!) makes all the difference. It's the personal touch that no amount of technology can replace. I'm sure this personal service is why our business has continued to grow year on year and why many of our members either renew their membership with us or come back after a break.
Since we began, four other similar Christian organisations have approached us to take over their members as they decided to close down. Three of these we've helped to ensure their members are still provided with a good service through us. We have been greatly heartened every time to discover that our membership list has been far larger - and perhaps this too accounts for our success, in that our members have more choice.
And now for some facts and figures. In an average month we now provide around 3500 individual matches - this compares with 222 in our very first month 10 years ago. We've provided over 160,000 in total - really quite mind boggling when you think of it.
We have exciting plans for the future. But one thing remains, our commitment above all to our members - to encouraging and helping them to find what they are looking for, whether that's new friends or someone special. And we prayerfully hope that God will continue to use us and bless us, that we might be a blessing to others.
Our website is constantly evolving and being updated. It's come a very long way from the first efforts of 2000. It now contains just about everything (and more) anyone could possibly want to know about us. We've recently added a whole section on where members live and it's quite remarkable seeing how much of the country we cover. Click here to see for yourselves. This is also a great resource to use for any friends or relatives who also might be interested in joining. So if you or they are concerned whether we'll have members in your area, click on this part of our website to reassure them that we do.
More marriages and engagements We hope you don't get bored or frustrated by our continual news about couples getting together. We tell you because we want to encourage you rather than to blow our own trumpet. People who join us (perhaps doubting it'd ever happen for them) often find their greatest dreams coming true - and if they do, you can too. We've now had over 65 couples tie the knot through us, with 5 more couples getting married soon. Of course not all the couples have wanted their stories published but those that have really are heart warming. The latest person to tell us of his engagement, told us how encouraging he'd found the stories about our couples on our website. He'd been amazed at how every story was so unique - and of course when you think about it, you really wouldn't expect anything else. If you haven't had a look at these stories recently, then do spend a bit of time reading them - I'm sure they will encourage you. Click here to read the latest on our website.
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What is love?
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Many people believe love is a sensation (based on physical and emotional attraction) that magically, spontaneously generates when Mr or Miss Right appears. Erich Fromm, in his famous treatise "The Art of Loving", noted the sad consequence of this misconception: "There is hardly any activity, any enterprise, which is started with such tremendous hopes and expectations, and yet which fails so regularly, as love."
For some with this 'misconception', waiting for Mr or Miss Right can therefore take a lifetime and sometimes, as a result, never happen at all. But it shouldn't be like that, and the reason it is, like so many things in life, is because of our 'wrong' thinking. Love isn't about a sensation - it isn't about finding someone whose profile jumps out at you making you think: 'This must be the one' - rather it's about a way of thinking about others.
We found this really good article about this and it certainly will get you thinking. Apply it to yourself and see if your thinking is holding you back from finding Mr or Miss Right. Click here to read it in full.
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Keep your love life going in the recession
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There are few of us who aren't having to tighten our belts in these current times. Perhaps one of the first things we cut from our regular spending is going out to do something, including eating out. If that's what you've had to do perhaps it's left you feeling that 'dating' is no longer an option. Don't worry help is at hand. You can still keep making new friends and dating. All it takes is a little change of thinking - a little imagination and creativity.
Click here for 10 ideas to get you going. |
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I hope you've enjoyed reading this newsletter and have found something useful in it. If we can be of service to you in any way, or you've decided it's now time to get a bit more proactive in finding yourself a partner, then please don't hesitate to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.
With best wishes
Katharine Gray friendsfirst Director
0121 427 1286
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