c. 1996 Religion News Service

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (RNS)-Ever since the original matchmaker created Adam and Eve, men and women have been trying to find the perfect mate.

While she certainly doesn’t claim to be God, Kimberly Gura hopes she can help people, especially Christians, find their mate through Perfect Match, a Christian dating service.

“First of all, God is running the business, not me,” said Gura, a single mother of three children. “Secondly, I tell people they need to be open-minded and not have tunnel vision when they come in to see about joining. They need to be open to change and, if there needs to be change, God will change it. I can speak to that from my own experience.”

Last September, at age 40, Gura literally dreamed about opening her own business.

“I was taking a nap one day, and when I woke up, it was in my head to start a Christian dating service,” said Gura, who lives in Arab, Ala., just south of Huntsville. “I said, `What? I don’t know anything about that kind of business.’ ”

But the idea persisted. “I already had all of the equipment I needed in my own home, and the idea of a dating service kept coming back to me,” she said. “Suddenly, I found myself and my oldest daughter, Shannon, heading for Huntsville. One side of my brain was telling me I knew nothing about this, while the other side was directing me where to look for office space.”

Gura found the perfect place at a Huntsville shopping center, where she meets prospective members, develops personal profiles, conducts interviews, takes photos and videotapes the sessions. She usually starts working on matching people immediately, but it generally takes about three days to get a pair together.

Each morning she starts her day with prayer and a reading from the “One-Minute Devotional Book for Businesswomen” by Mike Murdock.

Although she has a computer that will match people according to what preference they put down, Gura adds a personal touch, recommending some to members who might otherwise overlook a prospect.

She has more than 150 members ranging from 18 to 78 years of age, with the average about 36. The largest group is made up of singles 27 to 55. Members come from a variety of occupations and backgrounds. Some are single mothers, but most do not have children. About 50 percent have never been married or in a long-term relationship. The majority are Christians, but Gura also offers her service to people of other faiths.

Gura charges a one-time fee of $150 plus tax for the personal profile, interview, photographs and video, and a monthly fee of $49.

“If someone comes in and they meet someone they like right away, then they just tell me to hold off searching, and I do until I hear from them again,” Gura said. “That way the clock isn’t always ticking on them.”

If she doesn’t hear from a member within a week, Gura will call to see how things are going.

“I tell people that most are Christians looking for other Christians, but we still get some who say they don’t care,” she said. “Denominations really don’t seem to matter either. So far, I’ve only had one agnostic. I think God sends me people and everything happens for a reason.”

While the dating service is a for-profit business, Gura does see it as a ministry.

“I do look at this as a ministry,” she said. “If someone comes here and meets someone, then that’s great. But if God has sent them for another reason, such as to find out what they are missing in life, that’s fine, too. I have told people to go home and pray about it before making a decision to join.”

Many other dating services don’t place an emphasis on a person’s religious preference, but Gura includes that question for those wishing to find mates with the same faith or beliefs.

Unlike most dating services, Gura doesn’t take everyone who walks in the door as members.

“First of all, if someone comes in without a job, I tell them they don’t need to be in a relationship if they can’t be self-supporting,” she said. “Also, if someone seems to have some problems, I refer them to a Christian counselor before we try to match them with someone.”

Although she has been married twice, Gura said she now knows she can be just as happy being single.

“I always thought I needed a man in my life to be complete, but we’ve got to first work on being happy ourselves before we try to get into a relationship,” she said. “I look at this business as God first, then family, then a career. If I meet someone who can fit in somewhere, then fine. If not, that’s OK, too. God will always give us what we need, not always what we want.”

As far as her business, Gura said she will not date her clients. Besides, she said she already has the perfect mate-“God and me.”

MJP END WHITE