More than 1,000 attend Good Friday Prayer Breakfast

CEDAR RAPIDS - T.C. Stallings was baptized at age 9, but he didn't embrace his faith until he was 19.

'It was way later, when I was in my college years, when I realized that impact of what Christ did on that cross,” the actor and motivational speaker told a crowd of more than 1,000 Friday at the annual Good Friday Prayer Breakfast in Cedar Rapids.

Stallings, gave the keynote address during the two-hour multidenominational event held at the Cedar Rapids Marriott, 1200 Collins Road NE. He said before becoming an active evangelist, he was merely going through the motions.

Stallings was a sophomore at the University of Louisville, where he was a starting running back on the football team.

Football, he said, was his main focus.

'I grew up in a tough neighborhood, so I wanted to get my family out of it,” he said.

Stallings eventually became a professional football player until his retirement in 2008, playing in Canadian, European and Arena leagues. He then launched an acting career, landing his first role in the Christian film 'Courageous” in 2011. More recently, he appeared in the 2015 film 'War Room.”

Now living in Los Angeles, he's also written two books.

In an interview with The Gazette, Stallings said his successes as an actor and football player serves as a platform to help others find faith.

'For me, it was humbling because I haven't had a chance to speak at a lot of prayer breakfasts ... I've never had a chance to do it on Good Friday,” he said.

Good Friday is a Christian holiday celebrated the Friday before Easter Sunday that recognizes the death of Jesus Christ.

This year's Good Friday Prayer Breakfast also featured two Corridor ministries - Mission of Hope and Drop Inn Ministries - and a series of prayers given by local religious leaders and state Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Marion.

After a three-year hiatus, Event Director Bob Klaus said the Good Friday Prayer Breakfast was restarted in 2002 as the 'Mayor's Prayer Breakfast.” Klaus took over in 2003.

The event has drawn big name speakers in the past, including NFL Hall of Famer Kurt Warner, Willie Robertson from A&E Network's 'Duck Dynasty” and former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.

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