Robert John Dale Wilson

Their Story

Robert John Dale Wilson was born on November 1, 1946, in Denison, Texas. His parents were Charles Sr. and Rosie (Mitchell) Wilson.¹ Wilson later enlisted in the U.S. Army to serve in the Vietnam War; the exact date of his enlistment could not be found, but he was honorably discharged in 1982, at the rank of sergeant.² For his time in the service, he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal.³

Several years after his discharge, Wilson was ordained in the New Jerusalem Full Gospel Church in Muscatine, Iowa. In 1991, he began his ministry in the Scott County Jail,⁴ and on March 27, 1993, Wilson married Cheryl Ann Walker, in Moline.⁵ Walker was also ordained in the New Jerusalem Full Gospel Church, and in 1994, she began her ministry at the Rock Island County Jail. The couple served in these prison ministries through the Churches United of the Quad Cities; however, after a short time, the couple decided to start their own ministry at the East Moline Correctional Facility.⁶ On April 10, 1999, the Wilson’s opened Risen Christ Ministry and Outreach and held a dedication ceremony that evening. Wilson served as senior pastor of the church, while his wife served as the associate pastor.⁷ Wilson’s goal was to make sure that everyone felt welcome at his church. He ministered to “ex-offenders,” and people who struggled with drug and alcohol addiction and homelessness.⁸ He hoped that in later years, the church could expand and offer housing to those who needed it.⁹ Unfortunately, this hope would not become reality.

In January 2006, the city of Rock Island purchased the building where the church was located and in August, the city notified the Wilson’s that they had to move their church out of the building. Throughout the several years prior, the city of Rock Island had been working on revitalizing the city; they wanted to fill the building with a tenant who fit their “arts-oriented atmosphere.” Wilson fought this eviction, appealing to the city council; unfortunately, his efforts were unsuccessful, and he was ordered to be out of the building by August 23, 2006.¹⁰ There is no evidence that the Wilsons found a new location for their church. Wilson stated that he didn’t want to take his church outside of the city of Rock Island. He further stated that there were plenty of buildings available in neighboring cities, like Moline, but he refused to move to another city because God hadn’t called him to move out of Rock Island.¹¹

On February 3, 2016, Wilson passed away at UnityPoint Health – Trinity Rock Island. He was survived by his wife, Cheryl, children, grandchildren, brothers, and sister, Rosie. He was preceded in death by his parents, and sisters, Charleen and Theresa.