Dear Church Family, It’s hard to even express the range of emotions I’m feeling in this season. I always knew this time would come. Nobody can do, whatever it is they do, forever. My time on the main pastoral stage is over. That’s a great opportunity to reflect. As I reflect back on my time in professional ministry my heart is full of gratitude. I’ve been blessed to have spent the lion’s share of my time here at the Brownsville Church, serving the Brownsville Community. This has always been a beautiful area. We have enjoyed the beaches along the coast, the charm of Charleston, and most of all the warmth & friendliness of Summerville. Our church has been and will continue to be an anchor in this community. I believe deep in my heart that the best days are yet ahead for the church. This has always been a beautiful area & now it’s experiencing significant growth. The church will benefit from both of these realities. While my heart is full of hope for the church and for me concerning our next chapters, I want to take this opportunity to say thank you for our past together. Thank you, to the entire church family for your support and your willingness to follow my leadership even though I’m sure at times you didn’t see what I saw. Thank you to Anthony Lemon and the trustee board for faithfully executing the difficult job of caring for our facilities and expanding our footprint in the Brownsville Community. Thank you to Annie Faulk and the deacons for your love and concern for our sick & shut in members. Thank you to Pastor Carl Bright and the choirs for the inspiration and anointed singing you have provided in each worship experience. Thank you to our associate ministers that made my times away worry free, and for responding when I would call on you spontaneously to step in when I ran out of gas before the altar prayer. Thank you to Jack Howard and the Ushers quietly executing your duties for both regular & special services. Thank you to Charlie McMichael and the Hospitality Group for serving families in times of bereavement. Thank you to Donna Ravenell for coordinating, organizing and making things happen that are more numerous then I can list here in a letter. There is no doubt that all of you have extended my time even to this point, by the excellent way you’ve stood your posts. You’ve also made me look better than I really am. For this retirement occasion, thank you to my family and friends that have traveled from near and far to make my heart even gladder. Thank you Interim General Director Pastor Monte Dillard for pausing from trotting all over the globe to help us celebrate here. Thank you Pastor Cornelius Atkinson 2nd Vice Presiding Elder of NACOG & Lady Audra for coming to share. You’ve been good friends for many years. Thank you Patrick Polk and Friends for your presence and for blessing us with music ministry at our banquet. Our journey goes back decades at Lincoln Avenue. Thanks to Pat Howard and those working on the Souvenir Booklet. I’m sure I’ll look at it again & again with a smile on my face in the years ahead. Thank you to members of the SC Presbytery that have taken time out of your busy schedules to be here. I know that the SEA just had an event this weekend and so this was extra for many of you. I want to thank my two adult children that have experienced this entire journey in one form or another. I have admitted to both of you that early on I made some mistakes. We’ve had vacations interrupted by deaths, and there have been other sacrifices you’ve had to make that were partly because of my call & duties and partly because I just didn’t make the best decisions at the time. You rolled with those punches and are now doing things with your adult lives that make me very proud. Finally, to First Lady Tisch, my vacation partner, my rider, my love, my midnight squeeze, my very best friend. You’ve been here through it all. There is no way I could have navigated through all these years without you. You have supported me. You have quietly prayed for me. You have endured the pressures I carried, standing by me literally in sickness and in health. You have served this church faithfully as an usher, Sunday School Superintendent, & faithful member. You have over these 34 years come to every prayer service, regular service, on line service, & special service- unless out of town. You have blessed the community and beyond by your role as Guidance Director at Summerville High School, where you modeled integrity and Christian love. You have never complained either publicly, or privately, about anything that being a pastor’s wife has cost you. Thank you my dear! After all these years, I’m sure I have missed saying thank you to somebody. Please know that I am thankful for everyone of you that has crossed my path. I appreciate the blessing all of you have been in my life.
Lots of love forever! Pastor T!
Congratulations, Pastor Robert & Sis. Patricia Toliver “And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.” — Jeremiah 3:15 Dear Pastor Robert and Sis. Patricia Toliver, With hearts overflowing with gratitude and love, the officers and members of Brownsville Community Church of God extend our sincere congratulations to you as we celebrate this remarkable milestone. We honor your 34 years of faithful pastoral service. Words cannot adequately express our appreciation for the sacrifices you have made for our congregation and for the Kingdom of God. Throughout these years, you have faithfully answered the call to serve, not just from the pulpit, but in the everyday lives of our congregation. You have prayed with us, counseled us, encouraged us, comforted us in times of bereavement, celebrated with us in times of joy, and stood beside us through many challenges of life. The members of Brownsville are especially grateful for your genuine love. Your ministry has demonstrated that pastoring is more than preaching on Sunday morning; it is a life of service, sacrifice, compassion, and commitment. There were undoubtedly times when the needs of the congregation required your presence and caused you to miss special family events. For every phone call you answered, every visit you made, every family you comforted, every emergency you helped us through, and every personal sacrifice made on our behalf, we thank you. Pastor Toliver, thank you for faithfully teaching and rightly dividing the Word of Truth. Through your preaching and teaching, you have challenged us to grow spiritually and reminded us that our faith is demonstrated through how we live and serve others. Your love for the community, concern for others, and willingness to serve have shown us what it means for the Church to be a light in the world. Your ministry has touched not only Brownsville, but also families, churches, and communities far beyond our congregation. Your years of service have left an indelible mark upon this congregation. As you and Sis. Toliver enter this next season of life, it is our prayer that God will return unto you the love, kindness, and concern that you have so freely given to others. May this season bring you rest, renewed strength, cherished time with family, new experiences, and the joy of seeing the fruit of the many seeds you have planted. To Sis. Toliver and the entire Toliver family, thank you for sharing your husband, father, and loved one with us. We recognize that his commitment to ministry was also a sacrifice made by his family. Your patience, encouragement, prayers, understanding, and support helped make his service to Brownsville possible. We honor and appreciate you as an important part of his ministry and legacy. Congratulations, Pastor and Sis. Toliver. We celebrate you, honor you, and thank God for you. May God’s abundant blessings surround you as you begin this beautiful new chapter. With Sincere Love, Appreciation, and Gratitude, The Brownsville Community Church of God Family
Monte LG Dilliard
Interim Director Church of God Ministries for the United States and Canada Pastor Monte L. G. Dillard, Sr. has truly dedicated his life to both ministry and family. Having previously served as the Senior Pastor of the First Church of God Christian Life Center in Evanston, IL, for over 14 years, he made a significant impact on his congregation and community. His background as a banker, with over a decade of experience and eight years in management, highlights his strong leadership skills and commitment to excellence. Pastor Dillard’s influence extends beyond his local church, as he has participated in leadership at the local, state, and national levels. His dedication to family is central to his ministry, believing that the strength of the church is rooted in the foundation of a Godly home. Alongside his wife Tina, to whom he has been married for 20 years, Pastor Dillard is a devoted father to their four children-Nia, Kennedi, Morgan, and Monte, Jr. Pastor Dillard now currently serves as the Interim Director for Church of God Ministries for the United States and Canada in Anderson, IN, working with the Church of God’s Ministries Council to move the church into a new season of Gospel spreading all around the world.
National Association of The Church of God 410 Campground Road, West Middlesex, PA 16159 zionshill@nacog.com September 17, 2026 Reverend Robert L. Toliver, Senior Pastor Brownsville Community Church of God 920 W. 1st North Street Summerville, SC 29483 Dear Pastor Toliver, We are pleased to congratulate you on the occasion of your retirement as Senior Pastor of the Brownsville Community Church of God. Your dedication to faithful fulfillment of the vocation of pastoral ministry has been a great asset to your congregation, the state of South Carolina, to the nation and beyond. We are especially grateful for your many contributions to the vitality of the National Association of the Church of God—your preaching, your participation in our events and programs, your prayers and financial support. You have been an exemplary servant leader for our Association and for the Church of God Reformation Movement. It is our prayer that you will lean fully into the pathway of blessing that the Lord is mapping out for you and your family as you transition from the multiple tasks of pastoral ministry into new routines of rest and relaxation. May you prosper in health, blessing and abundant living throughout your retirement years. Yours in the love of Christ,
Cheryl J. Sanders Rev. Dr. Cheryl J. Sanders Presiding Elder
Dear Pastor Toliver, Honoring a Faithful Servant
How do I convey the impact you have had on my life, having never attended a worship service at Brownsville Community Church of God? Easy. When we met, you preached the installation service for my then-pastor, Rev. Ragen Mitchell. That one sermon introduced me to a man who was clearly a pastor to pastors and a devoted student of the Word of God. You brought the text to life in such a powerful and profound way on that occasion. From that moment, I began watching your life and became intentional about being present whenever I knew you were preaching or teaching. The Preacher Pastor Toliver you are one of my favorite preachers and teachers. I appreciate your relational approach to sharing the gospel. Your sermons challenge the listener’s heart, and always lead to introspection, and consistently point you back to grace. The Community Pastor and Servant Leader Pastor Toliver you are deeply community-minded. When I have sat in one of your sessions, one can always hear your passion for reaching the community in which you live. Because of your heart for service the Brownsville congregation has become a resource for the surrounding community. The Motivator I happened upon the “Two Minutes to Win It” videos and often have been left intensely motivated. Your brief devotional thoughts have often brought about an ahh moment and caused me to go back and read that passage again. Your Legacy I - along with so many others across this country are the fruit of his labor. Today’s service is fitting to honor not just your work at Brownsville Community Church of God, but your impact across the breadth of the church. Thank you, Pastor Toliver, for 34 years of faithful service. Your unwavering dedication and Spirit-filled leadership has impacted, inspired and prepared countless ministers down through the years. As you step into this well-deserved season of rest, we pray that God will fill the next chapter with an abundance of peace, joy, and new adventures. Sincerely,
Rev. Dr. Arnetta McNeese Bailey
:J:irst Church ofBod
"A City of Refuge" Bishop Timothy J. Clarke
Senior Pastor
September 17, 2026 Holy Greetings:
I am so honored and happy to be able to lend my voice to those who are pausing to pay tribute to and celebrate with this wonderful ministry couple as they bring to a close this season of pastoral service. It has been my joy to know Pastor Toliver for over three decades, and I have always known him to be a serious man, a sincere man, and a truly saved man. His life and labor, both there and beyond, will now result in a legacy that cannot and will not be erased. Brownsville Community Church has been blessed to have him as your pastor and to have Sis. Pat as your First Lady. They are a truly genuine, gracious, and generous couple. What is it, then, that we celebrate today? • • •
A ministry of integrity A ministry of impact and influence A ministry of investment in the lives of others
That is a ministry worth honoring and celebrating. On a personal note, I am blessed to call Pastor both friend and brother. I love him and Sis. Pat, and I pray that this new season will be for them a time of refreshing, recalibrating, and rediscovering both themselves and each other. May the blessings of the Lord be upon them, and may His favor boon the church.
Bishop Timothy J. Clarke
"Making Ready A People Prepared For The Lord" 3480 Refugee Road• Columbus, Ohio 43232 •Office (614) 338-8338 • Fax (614) 338-8008•www.lstchurch.net
Barbara Logan
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Rev. Jerome and Deacon Rachelle Peters
The Pringle Family