Ronnie Floyd

Ronald Wayne Floyd (born November 11, 1955) was for more than thirty years Senior Pastor of Cross Church in Northwest Arkansas, otherwise widely known as the First Baptist Church of Springdale, and author of over 20 books on Christian prayer and discipleship. He is a prominent member of the Southern Baptist Convention, serving as president from 2014 to 2016. In addition to his sermons, Floyd produces a podcast and television ministry. In Dr. Floyd’s 30+ years of ministry in Northwest Arkansas, the church has baptized over 18,000 people.

Floyd was born on 11 November 1955 in Gonzales, Texas. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from Howard Payne University in 1978, then attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary where he obtained a Master of Divinity in 1980 and a Doctor of Ministry in 1983.

Floyd was a pastor at First Baptist churches in Cherokee, Texas (1976-1978), Milford, Texas (1978-1981), Palacios, Texas (1981-1984) and Nederland, Texas (1984-1986).

A strong advocate of evangelism and discipleship, Floyd was a member of the "conservative resurgence" that retook control of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) during the 1980s. In 1989 he was a candidate to become president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, but was defeated by Mike Huckabee.

Floyd became Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Springdale in northwestern Arkansas, USA, in 1986. In 2001, Floyd led his congregation in the building and opening of a second campus, The Church at Pinnacle Hills in Rogers, Arkansas. In 2010, he led the two churches in adopting the unifying name Cross Church. Since, Cross Church has added three more locations (Neosho, Rogers, and Fayetteville), reaching thousands weekly. Cross Church ranks number one in Arkansas and number 18 in the nation in total giving to the Cooperative Program of the nearly 50,000 SBC churches. In 2013, Cross Church contributed about $700,000 to the SBC’s Cooperative Program.Additionally, Floyd maintains a blog, podcast, and television ministry. Floyd is also the Founder of the Cross Church School of Ministry, a one-year residential ministry school that prepares students for life, ministry, and global evangelism. Floyd is the founder and host of the Summit, a weekly lunch seminar for Northwest Arkansas businesspersons which hosts renowned guest speakers.

Floyd became chairman of the SBC Executive Committee (1995-1997) and president of the SBC Pastors Conference (1997). He led the SBC’s Great Commission Resurgence Task Force (GCRTF) to generate its 2010 report resulting in "dramatic efforts to penetrate lostness in America and across the globe."

In 2013 he began to lead, along with other pastors, a national Call to Pray initiative. Hundreds of Southern Baptist pastors attended Call to Pray events, all for the purpose of praying for spiritual awakening in our churches and revival in our nation.

Floyd serves as the General Editor of LifeWay's Bible Studies for Life Curriculum Series, which is used presently by around 150,000 small groups from approximately 30,000 Southern Baptist and other churches. Additionally, he serves as Lead Pastor and Strategist of SEND North America, the North America Mission Board’s church-planting strategy resulting from the GCRTF.

On June 10, 2014, Dr. Floyd was elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention at the SBC's annual gathering held in Baltimore. Upon close of the meeting, he became the 60th president of the SBC. He succeeded the Rev. Fred Luter. Dr. Floyd served as SBC President until June 15, 2016 when Dr. Steve Gaines was elected.

In June 2016 the subject was tapped by then-candidate Donald Trump to serve on an advisory board of evangelicals some of whom, like Floyd, had not endorsed him.

In 2017, the church opened Heart for the City, which feeds the homeless, ministers to those in need, and advances a ministry to children in the immediate region of its location in Fayetteville.

Dr. Floyd has appeared on CNN, Fox News, CBN News, and other major networks. He has interviewed with major news publications, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Washington Times, and others.

In April, 2019, Dr. Floyd was elected once more President and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee. On April 7, he announced his resignation as Senior Pastor of Cross Church, so as to devote full time to the SBC EC position.