By Vera Chinonso Aliyu, YeyeNews.com, December 8, 2021
IT experts in Nigeria are making a brisk business as major churches scramble for their service to build online dating sites to connect “matured christians”. YeyeNews.com learned that this rush to create online dating sites came as a result of the millions of naira that the RCCG House of David Parish generated from membership registration into the dating site RedeemConnnect.
“The amount we generated from membership registration into RedeemConnect in the first 48hrs exceeded our monthly offering collection. It is clear that the Christian community in Nigeria has been waiting for this initiative. Now other churches are rushing to develop theirs. We can not leave such spaces for worldly people to continue dominating and luring our youths into sinful acts”, a pastor in the RCCG House of David Parish told YeyeNews.com.
A website developer in Lagos confirmed to YeyeNews.com reporter that he has received requests from three major churches to create an online dating platform for their denomination. “The rush is massive. I have personal been approached by representatives of three major churches for this project. My colleagues are also been contacted. Every church now wants to go into the business of online match-making. I don’t know if they are doing it out of genuine concern or for monetary reasons but I can authoritatively tell you that every user must pay to use the sites”, the IT expert explained.
But some people have expressed fear that the dating websites may be abused if adequate regulatory framework is not put in place by the operators. “I hope these so called Christian dating sites will not eventually end up as hookup sites. The church should not just be concerned with the money but they should also guide against perverse actions and behaviors by users. You know in this country we can easily turn things on their head”, an elder in one of the old generation churches told YeyeNews.com.