PARIS, Texas—Pro Football Hall of Fame member, Raymond Berry, addressed his boyhood church last Sunday. The former Balitmore Colts star receiver and New England Patriots head coach shared his Christian testimony to kickoff an athletic camp and Vacation Bible School at First Christian Church Disciples of Christ.

According to The Paris News, Berry said his status in professional football had given him a platform to share God's love with others. Berry mixed football stories with testimony, telling the church audience how Jesus changed his life.

Berry recalled a pivotal 1958 Championship Game when as a Baltimore Colt, he was the NFL's all-time leading receiver and the "go to" man for quarterback Johnny Unitas.

"It was a tremendous game and after five quarters we were worn out," Berry said of the Colt/Giant matchup, the first overtime game in NFL history. Berry's 12 receptions and 178 yards helped the Colts win the 1958 Championship Game against the New York Giants.

But after the game, Berry said he began searching for his life's purpose.

"I started to understand for the first time all the physical gifts I had were no accident," Berry said. "There had to be more to life than chasing a football. I did not know what to do about it. The second issue was what is going to happen if I died tomorrow?"

Friend and linebacker Don Shinnick later led Berry to Christ, he said.

"What I did was real basic, as you can imagine coming from two football players," Berry said. "I prayed that I was going to trust Jesus Christ as my savior, but that I didn't understand what I was doing and asked, ‘Will you help me?'"

Berry said it took years of reading the Bible and continued growth to understand what all happened to him that night and to become the kind of person God wants him to be.

"I looked back on my days of growing up in this church and it dawned on me what the cross was all about and who Jesus Christ is," Berry said.

After his retirement from pro football, Berry went on to coach under Tom Landry with the Dallas Cowboys and eventually to become head coach of the New England Patriots, guiding the team to an appearance in Super Bowl XX.

He credited his obedience to God for his success. "As a Christian, what I brought to the table was submission," Berry said. "He provided the power."

"The whole object is to go to full strength," Berry said, "by showing God you love him and "backing up our mouth with our actions."

"We are on royal assignment for the king of kings and lord of lords," Berry said. "When our mission is accomplished, we are out of here and we know where we are going."