Good News Church of Ocala - Ocala (FL)

4 /5 Tammy Woodley: I am visiting town from South Carolina. Ive visited this church two weeks in a row. I have enjoyed the music and the gospel filled messages. I was concerned that as a visitor, not one person greeted me. I am also disappointed that there is no ethnic diversity in the congregation.

4 /5 Susan Patrick: This is a very nice group of Christians. We dont live here but when we visit Ocala we visit their church & everyone is kind & very considerate. The service isnt real long & is always uplifting. Were older but we really get into the music.

5 /5 Cass- A-Role: Ive been church-hopping for the majority of my life, until I found this place. I started out going to their Youth Group, then attending the church services. It took a while to get comfortable, but this church made it easy. The atmosphere is wonderful- everyone is friendly, and its not a large church, maybe 500 members tops, so there are familiar faces everywhere. I was involved in Community Groups, which was another wonderful way to make meaningful relationships with good Christian people. Their worship isnt presented as a show, but rather a time to sing together with your spiritual family. The songs are easy to follow and fun to sing. I got involved serving in Kidzone with my mother, and that was, and still is, one of the best things Ive ever done. Teaching the kids about the Bible was good for them, but also great for my relation ship with my mom and with God. Pastor Mario is fantastic, as is every sermon he preaches. Unlike big churches, he was a friend, someone I could talk to about anything, no just the Word. Could not recommend this place more. Love these guys.

4 /5 Tay J: They give refreshments before and after church. Family friendly. Baby room. Male female and disabled bathrooms are separate. 1:30 service. Lots of parking space

3 /5 Hannah Joy: The worship time was lovely, musicians really put an effort into their music and leading well. The preaching was enjoyable, concise, clear, hard truths were spoken with grace. It was scripturally sound and gospel driven. Maybe I should email this next part, but stating it publicly so hopefully church members stumble across it. If I could give some constructive criticism: your hospitality needs a serious checkup. My husband and I visited with our family because our kids knew someone who attends here. We are newer to the area and trying to find community. We arrived 15-20 minutes before the service, the door greeter barely said hi. There was zero direction on what to do or where to go. I went up to the information desk to grab a card and the woman there seemed distracted and barely said a word to me. Thankfully our kids knew someone and they got to visit for a minute during the childrens dismissal. But the entire time before the service, nobody else said hello to us or even made eye contact. If our daughters hadnt known someone, we very well could have gotten into and out of the service without anyone really saying hi to us at all. It was surreal. My husband even poked around the information desk for several minutes after the service, nobody was there. I get it, I know what its like to be in your comfort zone, to be established and to not want to make small talk with strangers. In the past I have been guilty of not saying hi to new people, figuring someone else has greeted them. Or afraid theyve actually been going there a long time and not wanting to put my foot in it. On the other end of the stick, not fun. I will be "putting my foot in it" as often as necessary once we find a church home. You can have a beautiful set up, a nice organized service, a bunch of great programs. But if you dont have basic love for people and hospitality, why are you doing any of it? If gathering as the Body of Christ isnt about knowing and community, whats the point? Not sure if well give this church another try, it was painfully awkward, the worst first time visit experience ever.