If you attend This Amazing Church, you will be moved to "Make A Joyful Noise Unto the Lord"…read morebecause I couldn't stop Praising Him after my entrance into the Spirit Filled Mount Olive Baptist Church yesterday. As part of our annual vacation, my sister invited me to worship with her and my nieces. I couldn't wait to attend the service that had moved her to join after her first time attending. Yesterday the Spirit rocked me from side to side from the moment I stepped into Mount Olive. The church was beautiful and the elderly "Mothers of the Church" reminded me of the sweet women that would dig into the bottom of their purses withdrawing everything a kid could ever need, including that sweet piece of hard candy. The choir was in full swing upon our arrival and the hymns transported me back to that little white wooden Baptist church I attended as a little girl in Charleston, SC. The choir moved my Soul and I could swear the Angels in Heaven were tapping their feet.. I glanced around and saw warm faces smiling and women were blowing my nieces kisses.. ;) the "Hug your neighbor" (my favorite) portion of the service allowed me to introduce myself and get more hugs and kisses. The singing commenced and I glanced over and noticed that the service was being translated for the hearing impaired as the service was televised. I'm pleased to know that I'll be able to stream services from San Antonio and was definitely moved by the Sermon "Sing a New Song for the Lord". The Pastor was "Passionate" about his sermon and gave me several points of personal reflection.. this is definitely a Man of God and I cannot wait to my return as this congregation made me feel at home. What an Awesome Service with some truly Amazing People. "Blessed to be in the Presence of the Lord" Islandgal29412

This will be my first and only review of a church service because I am not in the business of…read morerating my God's work [how could a mere mortal be so presumptuous?] -- BUT -- I feel compelled to let everyone who will ever lay eyes on this review to know that this Church is full of LOVE, full of the SPIRIT, and full of God's PRESENCE!! I previously attended our military chapel on Ramstein Air Base in Germany and prior to my arrival I prayed that God would help me to find a church home that I could "support" and grow in. My co-worker extended an invitation [after several had fallen through] and I can now see the hand of God at work. From the moment my feet touched the front steps of the church I knew that we were in for a blessing. Below is a small summary of this Service: WELCOMED - The greeters were FIRST-CLASS and one in particular "was on the look out for me" as we entered the Sanctuary -- he added that my co-worker informed him that I was coming and he actually picked my husband and two little daughters out of a crowd of parishioners bustling into the church before all the seats were taken. As I walked in a female usher could tell [from my bewildered look -- this is a much bigger chapel than ours in Germany] I needed assistance finding a seat and she personally walked my family to our seats which was so assuring. During the "Welcome of Visitors" my family also received loving embraces, welcoming smiles, and hearty handshakes from the local parishioners. As a natural-born, South Carolinian bred hugger I knew it was God who led me to this location! PRAISE & WORSHIP - This is definitely the day the Lord has made!!! I had not taken my seat before I found myself clapping and singing right along with the "all male" choir. Seven individuals [led by an amaaaaaazing Minister of Music had that church on their feet [including me]! I was raised in a small Baptist Church and I kept picturing my late Mother praising the Lord in this church the way we did back in Charleston, South Carolina. This service made me thankful for my Mother who left such a wonderful legacy of "Praise & Worship" in my heart. THE SPOKEN WORD - The Pastor who delivered the message was Dr. James E. Victor, Jr. and he is truly an anointed messenger of God's most holy word! I entered into this sanctuary expecting a "move from God" and He did not disappoint! My family only intended to "visit" this church today but during the call to join as a member I "knew without a doubt" that I had found my new home; I was so touched by the LOVE I received after accepting the invitation to join. There is sooooooo much more I could say, but for now I'll just say "Praise the Lord for the things that He has done". I left the service today fulfilled, full of peace and joy, and LOOKING FOWARD to returning. In the last 36 months I have traveled extensively in Europe and have visited picturesque locations in Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Amsterdam, Paris, London, Venice, etc. During my travels I remember thinking, "Lord, look at your miraculous wonder?????" Today, all of those historic and exotic locations I visited PALED in comparison to the view I witnessed today: A CHURCH ON FIYA [yes, I meant to spell "fire" that way] FOR OUR GOD! Let the Church Say AMEN, AMEN, and AMEN!!!!

If you're looking for a church where perfect people have it all together, you'd better look…read moresomewhere else. But if you're looking for a faithful church who seeks to honor Jesus and help fellow strugglers lean on His grace-- maybe you should check it out.

Strong word of Christ. New Pastor, Garrett Kell speaks…read morerelatable sermons - and can be funny too. Great place for all christians and non-christians. Get the podcast, listen, and you'll find yourself growing in Christ. Realize the church is new, and growing into something amazing. If you're looking for somewhere to go, and want to try a traditional feel, go here.

The Basilica of St Mary's has established a museum inside its lyceum. The lyceum is where the…read morechurch offices are. The museum is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It is a permanent exhibit on the history of the oldest Catholic parish in the Commonwealth of a Virginia. The museum tells a wonderful story of the history of the Catholic church in America , Virginia, and Alexandria. Many famous (and a few Infamous) people have been members or visitors to St Mary's. Notably, George Washington donated money to St Mary's parish to help establish it. George Washington believed and supported religious freedom of all faiths. George Washington's aide-de-camp, John Fitzgerald, was an early member of St Mary's. Fitzgerald was an Irish Merchant who has a great place in history of the Revolutionary War and the founding of the city of Alexandria. Recently, the city tried to erase the memory of John Fitzgerald by removing his name from the now renamed Waterfront Park at the foot of Prince Street because Fitzgerald owned three slaves. The history of Alexandria is undeniably the history of America. No bureaucrat is going to diminish or distort Alexandria's fascinating and complicated past. The museum spends a fair amount of time explaining how the Catholic colonists brought Catholicism to Maryland and how it spread throughout the 13 colonies. It also discusses its past church leaders and the many different buildings where the church and school were housed. In the 1920s, St Mary's leaders created a black Catholic Church, St. Joseph's, which is in North Old Town. Alumnus of St Mary's will appreciate the exhibit on the school, which shows photos of former students and teachers, especially the Holy Cross nuns who operated in the school until around 1990. The Basilica of St Mary Museum is suited for all ages and faiths. If you're a history buff or a local Catholic, you will learn a lot about the history of the United States and Catholicism in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Please visit and stop by the museum and church.

Beautiful church! Attended Mass recently while out of town. Felt welcomed although a bit…read moreunderdressed as most people attending Mass were dressed quite nicely! We had a young priest, (my apologies for not remembering his name) but enjoyed his sermon & will remember it going forward in life!

Great people, powerful messages, fun kids programs and it feels like home! I love this church and…read morewould highly recommend it to anyone.

Great spiritual experience. Plenty of parking. Services end in a timely manner and the leaders are…read morefriendly.

An amazingly diverse church - a church for everyone. Pastor Danielle Bridgeforth preaches relevant,…read moreinspiring, and interesting Biblically based sermons and boldly addresses issues faced by the community and nation. The theme for this year is "We're better together." The church welcomes visitors. It has a 9:45 Bible Study and worship service immediately following.

Great church!…read more Awesome people, great ways to get involved in a small group or other things. I've had trouble finding a place of worship where I felt at home. I feel very comfortable here. The church as a whole is great for everyone. If you're worried about a church conflicting with your specific political views or something like that, this isn't a church preaching politics, fire and brimstone. This church focuses on the positive,love and community. The gathering leaves room for lots of conversation and meeting qood quality people. I love that its not mega-church-y but is large enough to have such a large community of people of diverse ages and backgrounds. Stephen Taylor the Community Ministry Coordinator is very good at relating his messages about todays times and how to apply to apply them to our every day lives. He is even nice enough to remind us about upcoming events via email. I am becoming to a regular to the yoga class the church hosts on Monday evenings. Their yoga class has helped me physically,emotionally and spiritually. All and all I am extremely lucky this church has come into my life. I hope other people can experience from this divine gift as I have.

My family belonged to a great church in Chicago. It took us about a year to find and decide to join…read morethat church. So we were dreading having to start that process all over again when we moved to Rockville. After a year and a half of sporadically checking out at least 7 different churches in Maryland, we heard about GCCC expanding to Tysons. Initially, we thought it would be too far since we're coming from around Shady Grove Hospital. But taking into account the lack of traffic on Sunday mornings, it only takes us about 20-25 minutes. Why was it so difficult for us to decide on a church? My husband is a non-believer who's curious to learn more about Christianity. We needed Pastors that we can relate to, connect with, be inspired by, and most importantly, be people who would make us WANT to go to church and listen to them every...single...Sunday. Pastor Steve, Pastor Sam, and Pastor Phillip are all quirky, funny, and relatable in their own ways. They have been so welcoming to all the newcomers to the Tysons location and you can really see the heart that they have for God, His people, and the mission of the church. We have 3 young kids (age 5 and under) so we needed a great children's program for each of their age groups. Believe me, there isn't a shortage of kids at this church. But despite the volume and what I would have expected to be complete chaos, the Children's Ministry has everything under control. Security is very important to them and they have a great system in place where every child is accounted for and no child would be released to someone who shouldn't be picking them up. My two older ones will have their days of not wanting to be separated from Mom and Dad, but they come out of their classrooms every Sunday with a big smile and so excited to share with us what they did in class that day. It's exciting to see that our kids would be growing up and becoming (hopefully) lifelong friends with the kids in their classes. My husband and I wanted to meet people who are in the same life stage as we are, families trying to survive the early years of child-rearing, and we have met so many great families with kids the same age as ours. But I realized that it's important to get to know the other folks with older kids too (they will be our mentors on how to handle and teach our kids as they grow older) as well as the younger/single folks (who plan fun activities outside of church where we can pretend we're young again.) I've never been apart of a church where there are so many official and unofficial events for people to bond outside of church. I can see that this is a place where your friends become your family, and we want to be a part of that. Now that we have become regular attenders, we are really enjoying getting to know everyone on a deeper level and opening our palates up to all the different restaurants in VA that we Marylanders never venture out to try! And I know we'll never have to dine alone because the people at this church love to eat!

Been at this church from the beginning... There are definite unique things about the church so I'd…read morepoint them out. 1. The church is mostly transplants from other areas. I think that helps to enfold new comers. There's really no "old timers", so everyone feels like they can fit right in even though they just moved to the area. 2. There's strong ownership of the church by the members and regular attenders. The standard 80/20 rule doesn't apply. More than 50 percent are involved in some sort of ministry... And many in multiple ministries. 3. The leadership truly demonstrate humble servanthood. You will see them in serving in children ministry, moving equipment, setting up each service week and week out ... 4. The church still feels 'small' and where newcomers can still find space and place. 5. There are strong desire and practice to serve the community... 6. Of course, there are plenty of fun folks!

I'm not a member; I'm not even a Baptist. But I'll give them 5 stars because I can appreciate a…read moreplace that's hip enough to have a sign that says "Church Parking Only: Violators will be "Baptized" ". Who says Churches can't have a sense of humor?

Great church, great people, very kid-friendly. Dan Carlton is the new pastor as of March 2011 and…read morehe is re-energizing an already active and fun group of people. It's a nice, diverse crowd and I always feel welcome, learn something new, and leave feeling energized.

Nice little church. Quaint place that feels family oriented. I attended a wedding their and it was…read morenice.