SALT Was Made For and By Christians Searching for True Connections

The Short Version: Single Christians may have a hard time feeling like they belong in their local church communities. SALT, a dating and community app for Christian singles, makes finding this single community simple while bringing top-tier online dating features along at the same time. 

The platform you choose for online dating may be one of the most important decisions you’ll make in the whole process. It decides what kind of singles you’re going to meet, what kind of relationships they’re looking for, and how they go about finding them.

If you’re searching for a relationship built around your faith, and you are looking for a partner who values your beliefs as much as you do, you should go to a platform where people are searching for love with a faith-informed lens. 

With around 210 million Christians living in the United States, Christian singles have their pick of specialized Christian dating apps. But because there are so many different apps and platforms, you have to be discerning when deciding on your app, even when you’re only deciding between Christian platforms. 

Pretty much every platform is going to offer you great profile customizations, impressive chat and messaging features, and the potential to connect with interesting people. 

But not many dating apps are focused on community, and for many Christian singles, a strong faith-based community is just as important as finding a partner who prioritizes their faith.

SALT is a new type of Christian dating app that serves single Christians who love Jesus and want to build a real community. The app was designed for and by Christians who understand how challenging it can be to find someone you can connect with through your faith and shared values and beliefs. 

We talked to SALT’s Operations Director, Sarah Paxton, about the platform’s fresh new look, how it serves singles, and why they want to create a platform that does more than get people on dates. SALT connects single Christians for community, friendships, and, if it’s right, God-honoring relationships.

“Churches are great places, and often the communities are wonderful for married people and families,” Sarah said. “But if you’re on your own or dating, it can feel quite lonely sometimes, and you may be struggling with things your pastor doesn’t talk about on a weekly basis.”

Sarah gave us the scoop on how SALT was founded, and it turns out it was born from the CEO’s own online dating experience. “Prior to launching the app in 2018, our CEO Paul (Rider) had been online dating, eventually meeting his lovely wife through another platform,” she told us.

And while Paul did eventually find his match, he found the online dating process overall disappointing. He felt it was clunky and unoptimized, and finding a faith-based option often came with a feature or price tradeoff. It wasn’t a great experience, despite its wonderful outcome.

“He was inspired to create something that would better serve younger Christians,” Sarah told us. “Some of the Christian sites that were out there were web-based and geared toward an older audience. He saw a gap for something that was discreet, fun, and relaxed, and actually equipped Christians to meet and help each other.”

Sarah told us that in some Christian circles, Christian dating can come with unnecessary stress. A first date to church can feel like a lot of pressure and expectation, and so can dating with the goal of a committed, life-long partnership. While these are important factors to consider, SALT wants to give daters the opportunity to enjoy the dating experience, without getting too wrapped up in an outcome.

SALT strikes the balance between web-based Christian platforms and the modern, non-religious dating apps. “A lot of the mainstream apps are very hookup-focused and a lot of people are leery of them, even outside of the Christian market,” Sarah said. “There’s a gap for young dating that’s committment-focused.”

By combining a sleek mobile app with the sort of features that Christian singles care about, SALT is serving its mission of creating better ways for Christians to meet.

SALT has kept its approach fresh throughout the years to best serve Christian singles of all ages, and recently the app and whole website got a big refresh.

Along with rolling out a sleek new look on its YouTube channel and other social platforms, SALT has expanded its collection of online resources, which also includes podcasts and Bible study plans, to include a newly launched blog with regular new content published to support its users on their dating journey.  

“It’s energized the whole platform,” Sarah said. “We have lots of great content out there to help people and provide a well-rounded experience for people on every date of their single, dating, or relationship journey. We want our site to link all these aspects of our mission together.”

SALT is free to join, match, and chat for users across the world. The app lets you make voice notes, schedule interactive community events, and video call with potential dates. Sarah told us the team is focused on offering users all the same features they can find on the most popular apps. 

Along with the standard profile, matching, and chatting features you can find on most dating apps, SALT also offers features geared toward building a strong faith-based community. The app’s Social feature is where users go for advice, to post a song or photo, and interact with what other users are posting.

The Social space gives you a place to connect with Christians in your local area or beyond without the confines that online dating platforms often come with. You have more freedom to forge and find the kind of connections you’re looking for.

SALT offers live, interactive audio events led by friendly and experienced hosts through the Table feature. Table lets you listen to meaningful conversations, share your thoughts and feelings, and hear interesting perspectives you otherwise might not have.

“You can find wonderful, faith-based encouragements all over the platform,” Sarah said. “And every resource was developed by us, a small team of Christians. And we really understand the challenges firsthand of dating and finding community.”

SALT is designed to set users up for success in finding community and dates. Whether you’re an online dating veteran or back on the dating scene after a long time out, Sarah said SALT is designed to make finding connections simple and enjoyable.

“We just want the experience as a whole to be positive and a great step into dating for all of our users,” Sarah said. 

SALT is full of features that make your online dating experience the best it can be, but you have to make sure you’re ready for that experience. Dating is a journey that requires you to know what you want, especially when you’re searching for a lifelong partner with whom you share your most central beliefs.

“As much as you can be, being in a good and healthy emotional, spiritual, and mental place is essential before you start dating,” Sarah said. “None of us can get to this stage where we’re 100% sorted, but we need to equip ourselves to succeed in healthy dating.”

Before you start seriously focusing on dating, the first relationship you need to work on is the one with yourself.

Make sure you’ve dealt with those painful past relationship experiences and learned what you can do to avoid finding yourself in another unhealthy place.

Dating fatigue is a real thing, especially when it comes to online dating. When you get tired of swiping and matching, take a break and focus on the great things in your life you already have. This could be reaching out to friends or family, engaging with one of your favorite hobbies, or simply having a relaxing day of self-care.

Remember to take care of yourself during the process so you can show up as your best version. 

“It’s always worth taking time to make sure you’re ready to date,” Sarah said. “And once you are, remember to not take things too personally, and to stay hopeful.”