Rev. Tim Machtel was born in Marshall, Michigan and moved to southeast Florida when he was 12. Tim’s parents, sister, and brother-in-law still live in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida where he grew up. He is married to his wife of 26 years, Debbie. Debbie is a graduate of The University of Central Florida and the Owner/Operator of the Chick-fil-A franchise located inside The Paddock Mall here in Ocala. Debbie is from Oviedo, Florida where her parents, sister, and brother still live. Tim and Debbie have two daughters. Abigail lives in Riverview, Florida with her husband Rudy, and both Abigail and Rudy are graduates of The University of Central Florida. Bekah lives in Lakeland, Florida where she will graduate from Florida Southern College on May 6th with a degree in Elementary Education.
Tim received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Bible and Theology from Asbury College (now Asbury University) in Wilmore, Kentucky. He went on to receive his Master of Divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary as a part of the first graduating class of the Orlando campus. Through the years he has also completed The Institute of Preaching, the Reynolds Program for Church Leadership, and is certified in The 6 Types of Working Genius through The Table Group.
Tim was Commissioned as a Provisional Elder in The Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church in May of 2003 and Ordained as an Elder in Full Connection in June of 2006. Tim served Boyd United Methodist Church in Boyd, Kentucky as a Student Local Pastor. In the Florida Conference, Tim has served as Pastor of Trilby United Methodist Church in Trilby and Community United Methodist Church in San Antonio as a two-point charge; the Executive Pastor at Beach United Methodist Church in Jacksonville; Senior Pastor at First United Methodist Church of Dunedin; and Senior Pastor at St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church in Brandon.
Prior to his appointment to Ocala First in July 2023, Tim was on Personal Leave from The Florida Conference for three years while serving as the Executive Director of The Chick-fil-A Paddock Mall helping Debbie grow her business.
tim@fumcocala.org
Elaine Wellhoner McCreary is a 7th generation native of Marion County. Family lore says two of her GGG grandfathers helped build the first Methodist church building in Ocala circa 1850. Elaine is a graduate of Ocala High School (1966), and Florida State University, where she received a Bachelor’s in Music Education (1970), and master’s degrees in both Educational Leadership (1979) and Library and Information Systems (2002). Most recently, she was on the faculty of Florida A&M University, where she served as an academic librarian and was head of Interlibrary Loan. After retiring in 2018 she returned home to Marion County. Elaine is married to Rev. Ron McCreary and they have one daughter and three grandsons. She has served as organist in a number of churches in Florida, and has rung and directed handbells for many years.
ewmccreary@gmail.com
David leads our Praise Band at our 9:00 am service and our choir at the 11:00 am service. He also oversees our tech ministry. A native of central Florida, David grew up in Deland and moved to Ocala in 2011 from Nashville, TN. He has a Bachelor’s of Music in Piano Performance from Stetson University and a Masters in Music Composition from Belmont University. He is an independent contemporary Christian music recording artist as well as a composer and arranger of art songs, choral anthems, and orchestral works. David plays piano and guitar, and when he is not making music, he is playing tennis! David is married to Cheri, a nurse practitioner. Both are avid beach lovers and part-time world travelers. They have a cute cavachon dog named Kushbi and an adorable son named Bodie.
Tim received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Bible and Theology from Asbury College (now Asbury University) in Wilmore, Kentucky. He went on to receive his Master of Divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary as a part of the first graduating class of the Orlando campus. Through the years he has also completed The Institute of Preaching, the Reynolds Program for Church Leadership, and is certified in The 6 Types of Working Genius through The Table Group.
Tim was Commissioned as a Provisional Elder in The Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church in May of 2003 and Ordained as an Elder in Full Connection in June of 2006. Tim served Boyd United Methodist Church in Boyd, Kentucky as a Student Local Pastor. In the Florida Conference, Tim has served as Pastor of Trilby United Methodist Church in Trilby and Community United Methodist Church in San Antonio as a two-point charge; the Executive Pastor at Beach United Methodist Church in Jacksonville; Senior Pastor at First United Methodist Church of Dunedin; and Senior Pastor at St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church in Brandon.
Prior to his appointment to Ocala First in July 2023, Tim was on Personal Leave from The Florida Conference for three years while serving as the Executive Director of The Chick-fil-A Paddock Mall helping Debbie grow her business.
levidavid@yahoo.com
Bobbi Deriso is a life-long resident of Marion County. She graduated from St. Leo University with a BA in Elementary Education and spent 12 years as an elementary educator (minus the one year that she ventured into middle school and then quickly returned!). Following God’s calling, she began as Director of Preschool ministries at FUMC in November of 2012. She married Brian Deriso, a high school chemistry teacher in 2009 and together they have a blended family of five children: Ashton, Coralei, William, Liam and Madigan (“yours, mine & ours”). In her free time, she loves to read, go to the movies and spend time with family and friends. Alongside a team of phenomenal preschool staff, she shares OFP’s mission of being kind, being helpful and showing God’s love to others.
bderiso@fumcocala.org
Otis is a passionate follower of Jesus Christ first and foremost. He’s married to Carly and the father of Micah Rainn. With over 12+ years of experience in the creative sphere, Otis considers himself a Creative Media Specialist, with is just a fancy way of saying he’s a creative nerd! He loves web development, graphic design, photography, and cinematography. To learn more about him and what he does, check out his business page: www.vbm.digital. Otis also has some ministries of his own. Connect with him on Facebook!
otis@fumcocala.org
(352) 622-3244
frontoffice@fumcocala.org
1126 E Silver Springs Blvd
Ocala, FL 34470