Cross Church Administrator Resigns to Become President Of Rausch Coleman

Northwest Arkansas

by Paul Gatling ([email protected]) June 1, 2015 4:29 pm 597 views 

Andy Wilson has resigned his leadership position at Springdale-based megachurch Cross Church to become president of Rausch Coleman Homes of Fayetteville.

Wilson, the executive leader of staff and operations at Cross Church since July 2008, announced his departure Monday in an open letter sent via email to church members. He submitted his letter of resignation to pastor Ronnie Floyd on May 10.

“As many of you know, I have 30 years [of] experience in business and now seven years [of] experience at Cross Church,” Wilson wrote. “I believe at this point in my life, god has equipped me to have more impact for Jesus in the marketplace.”

Wilson joined Cross Church, the largest church in Arkansas, after spending six years as CEO of the Soderquist Center for Leadership and Ethics in Siloam Springs. Prior to that, he spent 25 years with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. He spent more than 10 years as Vice President and Officer of Store Operations, supervising over 100 stores and 10,000 associates in the Southern, Southeast and Western regions of the United States. 

He later spent six years as Vice President of People Division (HR) for all domestic store operations, including over 700,000 associates and management staff. 

Wilson said he was approached about a year ago by John Rausch, co-founder and owner of Rausch Coleman, about becoming president. Wilson ultimately declined the offer, citing poor timing. Floyd had just been elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

The offer was revisited a few months later and, eventually, accepted. Rausch Coleman was recently listed at No. 43 on Builder magazine’s ranking of the 100 largest homebuilders for 2014. The list is based on number of homes closed. The company has five divisions in Fayetteville, Little Rock, Kansas City, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. The company, Wilson said, is currently exploring expansion into Texas and other states.

“Due to rapid growth, Rausch Coleman Homes needs improved structure, organizational development and processes,” Wilson wrote. “With my operations and human resources background, we believe I can help bring these resources to the company.”