On Sunday, December 30, 2018, Ceil Tolbert preached his final sermon as pastor of Hillside Baptist Church in Willard, MO. 
The day was marked with a packed church full of members, missionaries, and multiple guests. Tolbert served as youth and associate pastor of Hillside Baptist from 1980-1981 while a student at Baptist Bible College. Upon graduating from BBC in 1981, Tolbert and his wife Shirley, moved to Mesa, AZ to help start a Christian school with his uncle. The Tolberts moved back to Springfield in 1983 to assume the pastorate of Hillside. Their first Sunday was August 7, 1983 with 48 people present. The church has experienced consistent numerical growth the past 35 years along with numerous building programs, most recently with the dedication of a 17,000 square foot building, primarily used for worship, in 2009.
On the same day of Tolbert’s retirement service, Hillside welcomed John Bingham as its new pastor in a passing of the shepherd’s staff. Bingham has served on staff at Hillside for the past 17 years.
