[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 57 (Tuesday, April 10, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E420]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING PASTOR RONALD G. TONEY, SR.

                                  _____
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 10, 2018

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a dedicated 
husband, loving father, community activist and an outstanding Man of 
God, Pastor Ronald G. Toney, Sr., who is celebrating his 25th 
anniversary as the distinguished pastor of Lizzie Chapel Baptist Church 
in Macon, Georgia. An anniversary worship service was held on Sunday, 
April 8, 2018 at 11 a.m. at the church located at 1180 Bartlett Street 
in Macon, Georgia.
  Pastor Toney was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to the union of Mr. 
Elijah and Mrs. Mary Toney. He graduated Cum Laude from Morehouse 
College in 1985 earning a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in 
Religion and a minor in Psychology. Always seeking to improve the craft 
of Christian ministry and discipleship, he furthered his studies at The 
Interdenominational Theological Center and Columbia Theological 
Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia.
  Pastor Toney received the most important calling in his life in 1976 
as a minister of the gospel. He served as assistant minister at Greater 
Galilee Baptist Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin before serving as 
assistant pastor of Damascus Baptist Church in Milwaukee from 1979 to 
1981; associate minister of Antioch Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia 
from 1981 to 1985; and pastor of Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church in 
Thomson, Georgia from 1985 to 1993. On April 11, 1993, he answered the 
call to serve the Lizzie Chapel Baptist Church, where he has served for 
the past twenty-five years. Under Pastor Toney's leadership, the 
foundation of the church and the size of the congregation have grown 
tremendously.
  Although Pastor Toney's official title is Pastor of Lizzie Chapel 
Baptist Church, he quickly realized that a true minister of the gospel 
must take the ministry to the people. Shirley Chisholm once said that, 
``Service is the rent that we pay for the space that we occupy here on 
this earth.'' Pastor Toney has paid his rent and he has paid it well. 
Under his leadership, the church has created and grown ministries that 
have accomplished this very important purpose. These ministries 
include: Love's Attic, Community Thanksgiving, Community Scholarship, 
Angel Tree, and the church's Evangelism Ministry. The church also has 
community partnerships with the Macon Rescue Mission and Ingram/Pye 
Elementary School. He is founder and President of Ministry Addressing 
Neighbor Needs Abundantly, Inc. (MANNA), an organization dedicated to 
improving the lives of people that live in the Barlett Crossing/
Cherokee Heights Community--one of Macon's most economically 
disadvantaged communities. He is an active member of many other 
religious-affiliated and other community-based organizations where he 
continuously pours his time and energy into his community, including: 
Haitian Empowerment of Life Project (HELP); Co-Founder and President of 
Gifts of Grace Foundation; Second Vice Moderator for Union Baptist 
Missionary and Educational Association of Middle Georgia; Foreign 
Mission Director for the General Missionary Baptist Convention of 
Georgia; First Vice President of the Sixth District for General 
Missionary Baptist Convention of Georgia; and an Instructor for the 
Congress of Christian Education. He also serves on the Board of 
Directors of Crisis Line Safe House, the Family Counseling Center, and 
Living Waters Recovery Home for Women.
  George Washington Carver once said, ``How far you go in life depends 
on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, 
sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong 
because someday in your life you will have been all of these.'' Pastor 
Toney has gone far in life because his everlasting faith in the Lord is 
vivid testimony of His greatness to all whom he encounters. His love 
and commitment to Christ is reflected in his compassionate leadership, 
which makes him a guiding light within the community. He is an humble 
man who always puts himself in the shoes of others. It has been said 
that, ``The true person of success is not the person that climbs the 
ladder of this life with two hands, but climbs the ladder of this life 
with one hand and reaches back with the other.'' Pastor Toney has 
always climbed the ladder of life with an eye towards helping others to 
reach their full potential, both spiritually and socially.
  Pastor Toney has achieved much in his life but none of it would be 
possible without the grace of God and the love and support of his wife, 
Patricia, their children, Jason, LaTai, Ronald, Jr., and Erika; their 
nine grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
  Mr. Speaker, today I ask my colleagues to join my wife, Vivian, and 
me, along with the congregation of Lizzie Chapel Baptist Church, and 
the more than 730,000 residents of Georgia's Second Congressional 
District in extending our sincerest congratulations to the Pastor 
Ronald Gene Toney, Sr. A man of great accomplishment, he is an 
outstanding mentor and strong leader, but above all, he is a faithful 
servant of God who climbs ``Jacob's Ladder'' on a daily basis to make 
this world a better place to live for all of God's children.

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