Dramatic footage captured the moment a Georgia woman was struck by lightning outside her church in a horror near-death experience. 

Mary 'Jeanna' Menna, 54, says she is thankful to have survived after she was hit by a lightning strike outside St Joseph Catholic Church in Cobb County, Georgia on May 6. 

Surveillance video from the church parking lot showed Menna's car consumed by a flash of light during a heavy storm. 

Menna said she had just opened her car door when lightning struck a tree next to her, which exploded the tree and sent a shockwave through her vehicle. 

The strike knocked Menna unconscious, and when paramedics arrived they found she was not breathing and had no pulse. 

She underwent emergency CPR in the parking lot and was raced to hospital, where she miraculously survived.  

Menna said the last thing she remembered was being in her car in a storm, as 'the rain was very heavy... it was thunder, lightning,' she said at a press conference this week to thank first responders who saved her life. 

'Apparently the lightning hit the tree, split it in half, hit my car, and I went into cardiac arrest,' she said, per WSBTV. 

At her press conference this week, Menna grew emotional as she hugged the paramedics who raced to her side and saved her.

Marietta Fire Assistant Chief Kevin Gerhard added that Menna was lucky to be alive due to the torrential storm conditions she was struck in.

'One of the biggest challenges is it was raining so bad, so we had to get her out of the rain and into the ambulance,' Gerhard said. 

'Fortunately, Kennestone (Hospital) was not that far away, but they were ready for her.' 

Menna said she has since been given a clean bill of health after recovering in hospital. 

She said she believes her faith is the reason she was spared, and described the paramedics who saved her life as 'truly, God's angels on earth.'