So I'm part of a Bible study group. Most of us are single. There's this one girl who I felt was getting chummy with me so that a guy who she is pursuing would think that we were friends and I wouldn't be a target because she and I were "friends" (me and her are not friends and never will be). It did bring up a thought about how people date in the church. Like are people within your Bible study group of the opposite sex hands off plus people who the women have dated too? I wonder how people navigate that.
ETA: how do I not make my church dating pool smaller than what it already is?
Speaking from my experience: we are a very small church and yes there have been many couples who got formed within the church. But for me personally, it would be very off character to date someone from within the church. It's never been my style: I've never dated anyone from my class in junior high or senior high school. I tried dating a senior in college and it backfired big time, it probably has nothing to do with the fact that we were from the same group, but it's really something I'm trying to avoid now.
Men who other women have dated are off limits for me, absolutely. Been single now for 13 years and I'm really starting to take my blinders off, thinking I'm holier than thou and could never be attracted to someone another sister has dated/is dating. So this is an area of my life that I do pray for a lot. My preference would be to find someone from another church, still from within my city though.
Honestly, I just feel like when you all run too much within the same circle, there's just so much more drama and every single move y'all make is scrutinized. There are (dis)advantages to that, but right now it's not for me, who knows, maybe I'll change my mind about that one day. At the end of the day, these are the people I spend most of my time with. The chances of finding someone outside of that circle are very small :/.