I was just chatting with John Porricolo of the United Sharing Network today and he reminded me of an interesting fact.    The parent company of  BigChurch is Friend Finder, which in turn is owned by Penthouse.com (as in the smut mag Penthouse)

I did some looking around to verify and found this from Dating.About.com

Adult Friend Finder was one of the first adult-oriented dating websites, and still remains high on the best-of list because of it’s numerous interactive features and increasingly large member base. However, the site was recently purchased by Penthouse.com, and it remains to be seen how or if the site will change with its new ownership.

Apparently, the folks at Penthouse are interested in selling off BigChurch as it clearly doesn’t fit into the mix with the rest of their sites.  Maybe a Christian company will step up and legitimize this site.

Until then… Christian web masters, now that the link to porn is more clearly spelled out, can we stop pretending that this is a legitimate option for Christians to promote on their sites and give high reviews, and profit big from?  Can we see it for what it is?

I was challenged by an affiliate with this question:

Do you guys spend money at Google?   They make Millions or Billions taking PPC money from porn companies?

Yes- we do use Google for PPC.  We are using the tools of the World to reach people with a dating site that will help them in their faith walk and help match them up with an equally yoked Christian and hopefully a strong Godly marriage.

Companies like FriendFinder are using Christian web masters as TOOLS.. to reach Christians and monetize them.  Period.   Is there any emphasis on development of faith there?   Any encouragement of members to prepare themselves for marriage through serving the less fortunate?  Any attempt to present the Gospel?

There is a total difference here.

God Bless,

Wade