Community Bible Church was started a few years ago by a core group of families here in Ocala meeting together to study the Bible. They felt that they needed some leadership and direction so they approached Community Bible Church in Beaufort, South Carolina for help. Pastor Carl Broggi encouraged them to meet together and watch DVD’s of his sermons. When the church was ready, the leadership from South Carolina and Ocala began the process of calling a pastor. After over a year of looking, they called Matt McGuire to be the first Pastor of Community Bible Church of Ocala. He had been a member of Community Bible Church of Beaufort for several years before leaving to attend seminary. Pastor Matt faithfully served the Lord here in Ocala for nearly two years and then sensed God was calling him elsewhere.
A matter of five weeks later, God opened a door for Mike DeGuzman to come to Ocala and serve as Missionary Church Planting Pastor.
Mike was raised in Clearwater, FL and graduated from Clearwater High School. After graduation he enlisted in the United States Navy where he met his lovely wife, Sherry. After nearly 12 years in the Navy, Mike and Sherry joined the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ and served as Missionaries to high school students.
While raising support to leave, they started a student ministry at Community Bible Church in Beaufort with 8 high school students that soon grew to 50-60 students. They were then asked to come on staff at CBC and served for over 9 years.
Mike and Sherry have 8 children; Maria, Christina, Samantha, Hope, Adam, Julia, Ashton, and Hannah. That’s right, 7 girls and 1 boy. They also have 8 grandchildren; ClaireBell, Ryder, Penelope, Griffin, Eliana, Adelaide, Walker, and Mia.
Mike is a certified Nouthetic/Biblical Counselor with the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors and served on the Board of Directors with Mt. Carmel Ministries which is a counseling ministry dedicated to bring Biblical Counseling to rural churches throughout America.
Mike has had the privilege of teaching the Scriptures in large conference settings in Beijing, China and in manure huts in Africa. Mike has a passion for missions, sharing the Gospel, helping hurting families, and the building up of the Body of Christ. He’s an avid Bucs, Lightning, and Rays fan and Ocala is a great place to root on these teams!