We are often asked how successful friendsfirst is?

What our members say about relationships they have made through us

“Just wanted you to know I had a very beautiful date with Julie on Monday. We had a great time and both of us want to continue this friendship.” (Andy, Director)

“I did nothing more than to follow the advice in all your publications – send an e-mail, several phone calls, followed by an initial meeting. I count myself very lucky to have met someone who has become very special to me very quickly and to have met them through friendsfirst.  I will drop you a line at some future point to let you know how things are going – I am very optimistic for the future.” (Lee, Security Officer)

“friendsfirst gave me the courage to begin dating again – thank you for giving me the opportunity – I am now happily married.” (Dorothy, Pharmacist)

“Just to let you know I’ve found someone now. Thank you for what you’ve done. I give you a great big thank you. Please take me off your list.” (Sarah, Property Manager)

“Please suspend my membership as I’m pleased to tell you I’m now in a relationship with someone. I actually met them at a Christian conference but joining friendsfirst gave me the confidence to know that I could go out and meet people and go on dates.” (Terry, Staff Nurse)

“ I’ve met someone really amazing through your agency. We get on fantastically. I’ve never felt so in tune with someone like I do with her. She’s unbelievable.” (Ron, Former lawyer)

“Thank you for the latest batch of profiles. However I will not be following any of them up as I may have some news to share with you in due course and I don’t think I will be renewing my membership when it becomes due. May I thank you for your help over the years. With every blessing (John, Baptist Minster)

I am so happy because I’m seeing Omar. Our relationship started in January (2010) and I hope it continues to flourish. Thank you  (Julia,  Activity Co-ordinator)

“Thank you for sending me 6 profiles which arrived on 5th August 2010. I contacted Theo and from this initial contact we seemed to click. Since then we chat most evenings on the phone. We have also met 4 times and this has deepened our friendship. When the last batch of profiles arrived I was feeling downhearted as I was not making progress. I was hoping to make contact with a lady near to my home. However our Lord prompted me to contact Theo who lives near to Dover - 81 miles distant. How pleased I am that I did phone her - the distance seems to pass quickly. I really feel that I have found my soul mate and the feeling is mutual. Thank you for introducing me to Theo, she really is a lovely lady, she makes me feel like a young man again - praise the Lord. God Bless” (John, Retired)

“I wanted to let you know that friendsfirst really does work, and, having discussed this with Heather, to ask you to put my membership ‘on hold’ (if that is the right term). Shortly after joining friendsfirst in late March, I became friends with Heather, a wonderful lady whose profile was sent to me. Having become good ‘friends’ over the course of a month or so, and hoping she felt the same way, I asked her to ‘go out’ with me, and she very happily said yes ! We are now ‘going out’ and are both extremely happy to have found one another - so thank you for helping us to meet.” (Iain, Pension Systems Consultant)

“I’m ringing you to ask you to freeze my membership. I’m in a relationship with someone I’ve met through you. She wrote to me in January, we then emailed a few times and then started talking on the phone. Since Easter we have been meeting and have just spent a long weekend together which we’ve really enjoyed. It’s a proper relationship now and we are looking to the Lord to lead us in our future plans.” (Simon, Local Government)

“Thank you for your latest newsletter - even though I suspended and then cancelled my membership around the turn of the year! I just wanted to let you know that in August 2008 I met Peter at a Christian conference in Jersey - Fire from the Isles. He was very recently bereaved and I came away from the conference knowing that something significant had happened, but not understanding God's ‘perfect’ timing. We got to know each other over the next few months, and in December, at a romantic meal in a Florida restaurant, he proposed and I accepted.  We were married at the beginning of May, and I could not be happier. And I know I can trust God's timing to be indeed perfect.  Thank you for encouraging me in getting back into the idea that I could be happy again (after bereavement in 2006 after almost 26 years of marriage).“ (Lorraine, Software Consultant)

"Do you believe in miracles Let me tell you about one that has happened to me. I have been a member of friendsfirst for about 10 months. During that time I have received and written letters plus having telephone conversations with ladies. In addition I have met two ladies and spent a day with both of them. However none of these encounters have developed into friendship. I felt that I was not making progress. In  effect I was not casting my net wide enough. I was looking for a lady who lived nearby. However most of the profiles of ladies I received lived some considerable distance from my town. Then I recalled reading in the bible that Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt. When they reached the river Jordan tow and a half tribes did not want to cross it and go into the promised land on the far bank. They wanted to stay on the land on the east bank and settle there. A bible comentator said that they were content to settle for less than God's best ie the promised land. It occurred to me that I was unwilling to cross a river bordering my county and not venture into the promised land. So when a new batch of profiles arrived I once again looked for a lady living nearly, there were none. Then I looked again and noted that there was a lady living across the river and into the neighbouring country. The Lord prompted me to contact her by telephone. How pleased I am that I did. Right away there was that spark that I was longing for. Soon after we met for our first meeting which went very well. We now meet regularly and chat most evening on the telephone. Truly I have met my soul mate.  Do not despair if you have not found your soul mate yet. Katharine in her book "Looking for love the second time round" says.... be patient and maintain utter trust in God, his timing and provisions are always best."  (Ron - retired)

“Please can you freeze my membership as I am now in a serious relationship, with a friendsfirst member, John, since we started writing to each other in January this year. I think he has already told you this - when one of you phoned him last month, but of course you need to hear it from me too. I/we will be in touch again as things develop.” (Jane, Pastoral Tutor)

“Thank you for your answer phone message enquiring how I was getting on with my friendsfirst membership.  Well - the answer is: Very Well!  In fact I am now regularly seeing or as you say 'in a relationship' with the first person who contacted me the very first night from my first batch of profiles back at the beginning of March.  His name is Chris and he is from Wolverhampton - he did say he didn't mind me giving his name.  We had a bit of an unusual start because sadly my mother died very suddenly in April, when we had only met a couple of times.  But a month afterwards we met up again and got on very well indeed.  Now we see each other regularly at weekends to go walking.  I had contacted a couple of other people before my Mum died and one man wrote to me from a long way away, but otherwise nobody has been made contact since March/April time which I am quite happy about.  So I would like to suspend my membership please while I continue to see Chris and let you know if anything changes.” (Heather, Primary School Teacher)

“My relationship with David (met through friendsfirst) is blossoming by the day and has reached a ‘watch this space’ stage.  David and I both appreciate receiving the newsletters and are looking forward to going on the holiday at St. R’s in September.  We will, of course, let you know what happens next.” (Dee, Mgr of support for adults with learning)

“I am writing to thank you for the fantastic service you have provided me with over the last few years. I will not be renewing my membership as I have been seeing a lovely man since April so I no longer need your assistance.   I would like to tell you how much friendsfirst has helped me – the men I have been in contact with have given me the confidence to go on and meet my current boyfriend. It has also been good to know that there are decent, kind single men still out there. I think friendsfirst is a great organisation because, after finding the love of God, what could be more important that finding the love of another human being? You are doing a very important job indeed. I wish you much luck for the future.”  (Rosemary, Teacher)

 “I do not wish to receive further profiles, I am so delighted to let you know that a caring and loving friendship is developing with Brian. We started to write to one another about June and then met in August. I first met him on a Sunday at his home and we worshipped together at his Church Wokingham Baptist the he took me out for Sunday lunch.  The concern and care he has shown especially when I had a broken leg in September has been so special. We highly recommend your company and encourage many friends to join. With sincere and grateful thanks. As Brian expresses it knowing one another has changed our lives. All blessings in Christ.with gratitude.  (Sue, Retired Activities Organiser)

"I'm ringing to stop my membership as I've met someone through you and he is truly wonderful. I feel like I've known him forever and I'm just so grateful to you for putting us in touch. I shall probably be moving soon and after we've done the marriage preparation course we will be getting engaged. It's encredible what God has done - a real answer to prayer." (Margaret, Accounts Assistant)

“Having joined friendsfirst just a few months ago, I am now very happy to tell you that I have met and fallen in love with someone, not a member of friendsfirst. A lovely, caring, fun filled Christian man and I am enjoying every minute of our time together. And so is he. Joining you, albeit briefly, helped me however. I was contacted by 3 people;  none was right but the reactions to my profile and my photo, of one man in particular, really helped my self awareness and self esteem. It was useful, in preparation for meeting this special man who now wants me to share my life with him. Best to discontinue sending out my profile, and thank you for everything.” (Margaret, Linguist)

"Best money we have ever spent. God has brought us together and I am the richest and luckiest guy on the planet” (Andrew, Driver- (formerly lawyer)

“Thank you so much for keeping me up to date with the news letters even though my subscription will now have expired. As I am now happily in a relationship I will not be renewing my membership and I would be grateful if you would no longer send my profile to other members.  The person I have met is not from friends first but may I just say how pleased I am with your friendly and helpful service.  I did make contact with many of the profiles you sent me and others contacted me and they were all lovely people - just not Mr right. Once again - thank you for all your support.” (Emma, School Teacher)

“I left a message asking you to close my membership as I have found myself a wonderful man, not through friendsfirst, but thanks for your help. I would be grateful if you could remove me from the e-mail too!”  (Suzan, Chiropractor)

“I was so pleased with my first set of profiles that I’m just ringing up to thank you. I wrote to 16 people and have had some really lovely replies. I’ve met up with a couple of people and am meeting one very special lady next Saturday. We’ve been writing and texting a lot and she is just one lovely lady. A gift from God. I will certainly keep you posted as to what happens.“(Paul, 53, Driver)

"Thank you for this month’s selection and for all the other profiles you have sent me over the years. I am so happy to tell you that John from Coventry phoned me, we met and got on so well together we are now living together! We can't waste time at our age (81). So you can now take my name off your mailing list! May I wish continued success of friendsfirst and best wishes to you."

(Ann - Retired Secretary)

“Just thought I'd let you know I'm going out with the very first person to get in touch with me! We emailed, phoned and later met up and immediately felt very much at ease with each other. And thank you for the advice to extend our age-range by at least 5 years each way as I would have missed out otherwise. Is it possible to postpone my membership with the hope that I'll cancel it altogether?Thank you very much for your service!” (Aline, Teacher of English as a foreign language)

“Many thanks for your news letter - which I find really interesting. I am currently seeing someone regularly that I have met through your contacts - so is it possible to stand my membership down for a while. Thank you for all you do and all the encouragement you give. May you be blessed with more of the Lords presence as you continue in his service.”  (Ruth, Business Manager)

“Your contact with me has been good. I found that talking to specific staff members helped me to feel valued as an individual. I found you very friendly, reliable and approachable. Your service has been excellent. The profiles you sent were generally good, and the photos were useful. I found other members’  friendly, courteous and understanding. Your Top Tips and 'Guidance' is good. I have established a deepening relationship with a very special widowed lady 30 miles away so I am not going to rejoin. Thank you for being the means by which the Lord has brought us together"   (Paul, Retired)

“Thanks to friendsfirst my friend and I have met two wonderful men and our prayers have been answered. Consequently I would like you to forward your brochure to another friend of ours who is in need of help to meet Christian friends. Thank you so much for all you have done for us.” (Heather, Translator)

“The relationship I’m developing with Peter is so very exciting. But it’s amazing how it happened - he’s 73 and had he not contacted me I’d have never contacted him, because I’d said to myself I wouldn’t contact anyone over 70.” (Rosalyn, School Teacher)

“I'm writing to let you know that I have met a lovely man - Ian - through friendsfirst and we are now 'going out'! Ian will no doubt be contacting you as well but I like to thank you very much for giving us the opportunity to meet”

 (Cara, Adult Education Teacher)

“Things are going really well thank you. One of the men I’ve met through friendsfirst and I are getting on very well. In fact more than that. He sent a large bunch of flowers to my work (in front of everyone!) for Valentines day and the feelings are reciprocated. Nothing has been said yet but it’s all going well.” (Joan, Local Govt officer)

“I wrote to you last year and let you know that through becoming a member of friendsfirst in Feb. 2007, I had met a wonderful lady whose friendship and love has become increasingly very special to me. I still am receiving regular mail from your office but as a very satisfied and happy former Member there is no need for this. Perhaps you could kindly amend you files accordingly! I promise to let your Office know if/ when a marriage date is set, because I shall always be appreciative for the way that God used friendsfirst to bring the two of us together.” (Cedric, Church minister)

“Thank you for being the means by which the Lord has brought us together” (Paul, Retired)

“Thanks to friendsfirst, I feel sure that I’ve now met that very special person for me … and I’m accordingly most grateful” (Clive, Church Minister)

Re:  friendsfirst “Yes, it works. Even if you don’t find a partner through F.F the whole process of thinking about yourself, drawing up a profile and then contacting and being contacted by potential partners helps you decide what you really want, both in a partner but also more broadly in life as a whole. More importantly, the motto of friendsfirst is key. Katherine and I are now engaged but we were friends first – for up to about 24 hours. My advice is to use friendsfirst to make friends – and then leave the rest to God – to place it all in God’s hands and God will work it out” And THANK YOU, LOVE TO YOU ALL “    (Andrew, Pilgrimage Guide)

"I believe I have met my soul mate through your agency! I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for supplying God with a vehicle in which people can meet friends and partners. It is such an important service, and I'm certain God will continue to bless it! Once again thank you!" (Peter – Telesales)

"I am writing to ask you to remove my profile from your mailing list – for the very best of reasons. The first person I contacted from the first set of profiles has turned out to be God's choice for me. And in case you were wondering – he agrees. We will let you know when there is anything formal to declare, which will be fairly soon. Thank you so much for your service – you were definitely part of God's plan for our lives and I will continue to recommend your service to all my friends. May God bless you – and friendsfirst greatly in the future."

(Margaret – Physio)

“friendsfirst membership couldn’t have worked better in my case although it’s probably unusual to have met the right man so quickly. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to meet and hopefully there will be many more who find happiness through friendsfirst.”  

(Mary, Cash office assistant)

"I'm writing to you because I'm glad to say I met Phil about 4 months ago. Things are going really well and I would like to 'freeze' my profile till the end of the year, as I feel it's not fair to other members that want to get in contact with me. Phil was the first guy I met, so it's been very easy for me! Thank you for making this happen for us and I hope there is continued success in the future for other members."

(Liz, Cash Assistant)

"I've been seeing Susan over the past couple of weeks and we're very happy together so it doesn't seem fair to remain on your books. Please will you stop circulating my profile." (Rob, Teacher)

"Could you please cancel or put on hold my membership. I have met someone special through friendsfirst." (Hazel, Office Worker)

"Please will you cancel my membership to friendsfirst as I have recently met someone very special with whom I am building a strong relationship. Many thanks for your helpful, professional service." (John, Engineer)

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for friendsfirst. I have met someone from the agency and would like you to kindly delete me from your mailing list. We know we are right for each other. Thanks again as this was my last attempt of finding love."

(William, Finance Assistant)

"I am writing to thank friendsfirst for bringing me into contact with a lovely lady. In a matter of 3 months we have become extremely fond of each other. We are looking forward to sharing the future together, which promises to give us both a 'new lease of live' and much happiness. Therefore, please suspend my membership. Thank you again for your efficient service in providing many interesting profiles and resulting correspondence. I have felt confident in recommending your friendsfirst to someone else."  (Gordon, Graphic Designer)

"I am writing to convey my personal thanks to you and your organisation friendsfirst for being the means that God has used to introduce myself to a girl called Sophie. Our friendship has blossomed since I last wrote to you and we determined to keep it very much as friends first before officially deciding to 'go out'. It is still early days in our relationship but we are overcoming the problems of the distance between us and I am hoping that ultimately we will get engaged next year. May I thank you for providing such an excellent service and may God continue to bless your work." (Peter, Civil Servant)

"I am writing to tell you of some recent good news regarding someone I have met through your service. His name is Brian. We started corresponding through email and later met. Our friendship has developed into a strong relationship and we have fallen in love with each other. Please therefore remove our names and cancel our membership. Thank you very much for your service and I pray that it will continue to bring people together in the same way that it has us. God bless and thank you again." (Natalie, Civil Servant)

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"Please removed my details from your mailing. I am currently going very steady with another of your members and we are very happy together. Thanks for your hlep, its the best money I've ever spent!"

(Robert, Insurance officer)

"I am very happy to confirm that Philippa and I are meeting and enjoying one another very much and before the Lord I believe she is the one for me. Therefore please accept my resignation from friendsfirst"

(Eric, Financial advisor)

"I would like to end my membership as I have met someone through friendsfirst. Thank you for your help in making this possible."

(John, Design Draughtsman)

"Just a word to thank you for the friendsfirst service. I'm pleased to say that I've met somebody and would therefore prefer my profile to be withdrawn from your mailing list. Keep up the good work. " (Jeremy, Director)