As the name denotes, this service is primarily intended for those who are Black, SDA, and between the ages of 30-50...BUT, you DO NOT have to be strictly this combination to be a part. To be clear, we have NOTHING AGAINST INTERRACIAL OR INTERFAITH PARTNERSHIPS NOR AGAINST ANYONE PARTNERING OUTSIDE THIS AGE RANGE (this service is just tailored to this group). Let's go through each of these.... 1. Black? You may be a person who feels most closely associated with Black SDA culture and prefer to find a partner within that and not actually be black....if this is the case, we will kindly ask that you also provide your ethnicity on our registration form. Of course, given that this is understood to be a service for Black SDA's (of all sorts who live in North America), we would look for those matches for you that are open to those who are not ethnically black. But yes, you are still welcome to join! 2. Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA)? You may be someone who has never officially been baptized into the church but you either grew up in it or have identified with it. It is assumed, however, that as someone coming to this ministry that you identify with being SDA and you adhere to the hallmark doctrinal beliefs of the SDA faith, such as being a Sabbath keeper and also desiring a marriage between a man and a woman. How someone is affiliated with SDA will be an item we will have everyone specify on the registration form and will be considered in the matching process. 3. 30-50 age range? The ends of this range can be blurred to include those coming up on the range or recently exiting it. We would say give or take 5 years would be reasonable in either direction. The purpose of the limited age is so that our pool of candidates are peers of each other, making it easier to work with for matchmaking purposes. Also, our focus is on the age group that is established in adulthood yet may potentially still be seeking to build a family. There are questions in the registration form regarding age and preferences for age gap to their partner, and where the individual stands with the idea of bringing children into the mix. We understand the challenges involved in finding your partner during this age range, therefore we dedicate this service to you. Now, will we in the future expand this ministry to more than this age range? We are not sure yet, if God shows us that we need to do that, then we will adjust our services to meet the need.

To address these questions it can be summed up into two reasons: Purpose and Method. As stated in the other FAQ question about the demographics for this service, this service is for those in the Black Adventist culture rather than being exclusively for Blacks or baptized SDA's. We (the BAAMM team) don't have anything against interracial or interfaith relationships, we ourselves have had our own experiences with these types of relationships in some shape or form. They work for lots of people, and for sure God can bring your person from another background. But there are some Black Adventists, like ourselves, that have found that it is the best fit for them to be with someone they can relate to on a denominational faith level as well as a cultural level. And if you know anything about Black Adventists, you know it is a culture all within itself, on top of the culture of just being Black American in general. So the purpose for this service is for this unique subset of the Adventist and Black population because we noticed it seems this niche service is missing for this group and we are most familiar with the intricacies of this subset. We have a heart to help this breed which is also struggling to stay afloat in our churches. The inspiration for this project also came from our single friends and family who happen to be within this subset culture. Now as for the method, one of the large factors for choosing to focus in on this group is because our network of people is largest in this area, therefore making it most feasible and easiest for us to gather participants. Because this is a free service, we are not earning any money from it, and therefore we are not trying to put money towards advertising or anything of the sort, we rely heavily on word of mouth and social media. We did not create this just to do a general matchmaking service, our purpose in this is very specific. There are plenty of matchmaking and dating services out there that serve a variety of populations. This is our little corner of that that we feel God has commissioned us to support in this way. If you are open to finding someone within this unique population, you are more than welcome to join, even if you are open to finding your person beyond it, you can see this as another stone you can overturn in your pursuit of partnership. God bless you in whatever path you are taking! :-)

If you have felt this way, you are not alone! But, believe it or not, there is hope yet! The BAAMM team knows for a FACT that there are still high quality and eligible single Black Adventists of both genders still around! Now, is the proportion equal for genders, not necessarily, but there are still some around. And do we not serve the God of infinite possibilities!? A friend once said to find your person it's like "Finding a needle in one thousand haystacks!," and for sure it can feel that way, especially if your reach is limited. And that's where the beauty of networking comes in, because although none of us may know that person ourselves firsthand, that person may be just a few connections away. And if he or she is out there for you, they are alive and yet to be found or maybe even just yet to be revealed like in our BAAMM team's love story. So, stay encouraged, God has promised not to withhold any good thing from us as His children, so if a spouse is a good thing in the plans for you, they WILL appear sooner or later. Maybe this service will help? God knows, and let's find out!

We understand you probably don’t want to pass up opportunities as they come to meet your person, so if you are meeting different people in non-committed circumstances you can certainly remain in the candidate pool. But once you move into a relationship where there are titles (i.e. boyfriend/girlfriend) or a commitment, you can either ask to be removed from our list or ask to be inactive on it or let us know you’re unavailable if we contact you for a match. But if the relationship doesn’t work out you are welcome to rejoin/reactivate your account with BAAMM. And of course the expectation of BAAMM candidates while being matched is to be completely honest with all involved.

Just as you found us is one of the many ways we get our candidates. People can find us by word of mouth, by being referred through this website by a friend or family member, by finding us online through searching the internet or from one of our social media pages (Facebook/Instagram, etc.). We hope to have as many eligible singles within the Black SDA network join our database as possible. The more the merrier. :-)

BAAMM is for those who are of a serious mindset for seeking a spouse. By definition, this would be a courtship when two individuals come together with this same purpose of getting to know one another for the purpose of seeing if they could be suitable for marriage. By contrast, dating may or may not be with the intent to lead to marriage, but at minimum provides companionship for the here and now. BAAMM sees courtship as an opportunity to experience companionship while getting to know someone with the understanding that both are here to find their life partner. Naturally, there is likely a period of initial acquaintanceship upon meeting after being matched before the two decide to move forward with a courtship. There are no binding commitments at the courtship level just as with dating, but the benefit is that everyone starts off on the same page when it comes to the goal. Once a courtship is not working it can end like any relationship. On the flip side, if the courtship moves forward with success, engagement to be married is the next logical step. The progression of the relationship is entirely up to the matched couple.

We have also seen some of these shows (i.e. Indian Matchmaking) and I'm sure a lot of the process will resemble. However, one large element that will be different will be the in-person component, as we as the matchmakers will not be flying across the nation to meet with the candidates (sorry!). Most of our work will be done virtually through email, phone, and video conferences. You as a candidate, however, are free to be as in-person with your matches as you desire and are able. Matches are not necessarily found within your region unless you specify that you are not open to matches outside of it. We know that although the Black SDA North American network is relatively small, it is also spread out across the nation. We want to increase your odds of finding your person and so we will scour up to the limitations you place upon us for you. And no, you don't have to call us "Auntie" or "Uncle." ;-)

Believe it or not, the BAAMM service is ENTIRELY FREE (financially) to you, no strings attached! That may be hard to believe if you've seen what typical matchmaking services can cost,(https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/27/style/what-its-like-to-work-with-a-matchmaker.html) but this one is truly monetarily free. Yes, it will cost you your time, lending us some trust with your info, and opening yourself up to being vulnerable to trying out the opportunities that may come your way, but it won't require anything of you financially....at least not on our part with BAAMM! Now, what you spend in order to get to know someone through travel, dates, etc...that's on you hunny! ;-) Now as far as how this service is free, it is free because God has been so good to the BAAMM team, we have a heart of ministry in this, we want to help where we can and bring potential long-awaited couples together. We want for you what we have found in each other, LOVE and Godly partnership. We understand and know the struggle in the single streets. We get it. We wish we could guarantee you success in finding your person, but we will certainly try to help, and we don't want to make it any harder on you financially in the process. We have other occupations to make our family life work, so naturally we make space for this ministry where we can. That is all. Simple.

We hear you loud and clear. Trust, we understand it's never fun to feel like your business is on display. By profession and in roles we have been placed for work and church, etc., we at BAAMM are well-versed in confidentiality. Our goal is to be as discreet in this process as possible. We only share identifying information as you give us permission. We do not post your photo or profile/registration information on our website or anywhere for public view. There will be times in which when seeking matches we may generally ask referral sources for potential candidates with specific criterion when we are looking for someone who is looking for certain specifics, at which time no identifying information will be shared without consent of the person. We want you to keep your dignity intact all throughout. We want you to be as comfortable as possible. We would hope that all candidates would be respectful of each other's rights to privacy as well during the matching process. As for us on your BAAMM team, we have your best interest in mind and take your need for privacy to heart.

Any information you have provided will aid in the process of matchmaking. Your privacy is a top priority, we will not disclose any of your identifying information without your consent and we will not share the Registration Form in its entirety with your potential matches. Black Adventist American Matchmaking Ministry (BAAMM) is in no way responsible or liable for the outcome of what happens between you and your potential match(es). Our service simply makes the connection to potential matches at NO COST to you. Matches likely will not be 100% of what you are looking for. We aim to present you with only those who have a high likelihood of meeting your criteria. There is no set timeline or deadline for when we find you a potential match. At any time, you may request to have your registration removed from the database with the process outlined on the website and at that point we will cease working on matching you. BAAMM also has the right to cease working with someone at any point they deem it no longer suits all involved. BAAMM has a zero tolerance policy for the sharing of explicit sexual content through our website, forms, photos, emails, social media platforms, and by any other method associated with BAAMM. Sending inappropriate material will disqualify the person from our services. Although BAAMM may check references of registrants, BAAMM does not perform any formal background checks, it is entirely up to the individual to perform any background checks as they see fit. If at any time you feel a BAAMM candidate conducts themself inappropriately, BAAMM asks that you report that to our team with the process outlined on our website. Services are provided on an "AS IS, WHERE IS" basis. BAAMM MAKES NO WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, OR ANY OTHER WARRANTY, BAAMM EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS AND EXCLUDES ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES ARISING FROM USAGE OF TRADE OR COURSE OF DEALING. Although we cannot guarantee that we will find you a match, we hope to find you a potential match that fits your personality, meets many of your desires, and is free from any of your deal breakers.

We are here for you and happy to help! If you would like to get a hold of a BAAMM team member, simply fill out our contact form at the bottom of our Your Team page from the site menu or by sending an email to info@baamm.love. You can submit your questions, concerns, ideas, etc. through either of those mediums. In your email, please include your name, message, as well as a mobile phone number that you can be reached at. Someone will get in touch with you as soon as possible by email or phone.

If you have reason to believe a BAAMM candidate is engaging in misconduct, please report their behavior to our email at info@baamm.love with the phrase "URGENT- MISCONDUCT" in the subject line, in the message type the person's name who is doing the behavior, what they did or are doing, when they did these behaviors, and what actions (if any) you have taken in the situation. Please include your name in the email and a good way to reach you to discuss the issue. At BAAMM we do not condone abuse in any form.

You can refer someone to be in our BAAM matchmaking pool of eligibles by completing the referral form on our website. It's a very easy, short, and simple form. Look for the menu item on our website that says Refer Someone to let us know who you would like to recommend. We do, however, ask that you notify the person beforehand so that they are not surprised or blindsided that they were recommended for this. We will contact people that are referred to us and will explain our service to them and direct them to complete a registration form if they are interested. We need all the candidates that we can get so please refer them to us! Male and female, we need them all! One referred person per form please, yes you can fill out more than one of the referral forms! Refer those nice single eligible quality people from church, your family, your friends, etc.! Black, SDA, aged 30-50-ish and living in the USA....we are sure you know someone who has tried everything but this! Thanks in advance!