Founder & Senior Pastor
Herkie Walls outran Olympic sprinters, set Texas records that still stand, and earned a Hall of Fame jersey in Orlando. Then he traded the roar of the arena for something louder: the Gospel. This is his story, era by era.
I love you all no matter what.
Career record board
Texas Relays 100m record, set as a high school senior
Yards per catch in 1982, still the all-time Texas record
Consecutive Arena League games with a reception
Arena League receiving touchdowns for the Predators
Every chapter verified, from the Garland relays to the Hall of Fame, and on to the call that outlasted them all.
1961–1979
Garland High School
Born and raised in Garland with two brothers, raised Baptist, singing in the church choir. At Garland High he ran the option at quarterback and led the Owls to an undefeated regular season. On the track he won the 100, the 220 and the long jump, and as a senior won the Texas Relays 100 meters in a record 10.42 seconds.
1980
US Olympic 4x100 Relay
Herkie earned a place on the 1980 US Olympic 4x100 relay team, then watched the Moscow Games pass by when the United States boycotted. That same season, at the Southwest Texas Indoor Championship, he won the 60-yard dash ahead of Curtis Dickey and Carl Lewis, tying the fastest 55 meters in the world that year.
1980–1982
University of Texas
On a double scholarship for track and football, Herkie set the all-time Texas record for average yards per catch: 28.08 in the 1982 season and 25.8 for his career, leading the entire NCAA in yards per reception. His 10 touchdown receptions in 1982 still stand in the Longhorn record book, and he was named All-Southwest Conference.
1983–1985
NFL
Drafted in the 7th round of the 1983 draft, the first receiver Houston selected that year. Three seasons and 36 games as a receiver and return man in the National Football League.
170
Pick number, 1983 NFL draft
36
Games for Houston, 1983 to 1985
1987
NFL
Called back to the league by Tampa Bay, Herkie suited up during the 1987 season, the strike year, and finished his NFL chapter the way he started it: refusing to stay down.
'87
The strike year. He answered the call
1991–1996
Arena Football League
In Orlando, Herkie became a legend. Six seasons, 207 receptions for 2,924 yards and 43 touchdowns, a catch in 57 consecutive games, three ArenaBowl appearances. In 2000 he was inducted into the Arena Football Hall of Fame holding five receiving and return records.
1996–2003
Predators Community Relations
Seven years as the Predators' Community Relations Director, where he founded "Herkie's Heroes: Fitness is Fun" for Orange County Public Schools, pouring into the next generation long before he carried the title of pastor.
7
Years serving Orlando's community
OCPS
Herkie's Heroes: Fitness is Fun
2003–2012
The Master's Academy, Oviedo
Bible teacher, PE teacher and Head Football Coach. Licensed and ordained through Eastside Baptist, where he later served as Senior Pastor. Nine years teaching the Word in classrooms, locker rooms and pulpits.
9
Years teaching the Word
3
Callings: Bible, PE, Head Coach
2012–Today
Orlando, and everywhere
In December 2012 Herkie founded New Generation Gospel Church, a global digital church based in Orlando. In 2022 the Predators called their Hall of Famer back one more time, naming him Head Coach for the 2023 season. The arena changed. The mission never did: saving one soul at a time.
The record, on the record:
Pro Football ReferenceArena Football Hall of FameTexas Legacy Support NetworkWikipediaThe same conviction that carried him through four decades of sport now carries the Word, every single Sunday.
In Pastor Herkie's own words: the three men God used to shape the man behind the ministry.
Rev. L. W. Wilson
My grandfather
My grandfather, a Baptist preacher who was before his time. He taught me how to study the Word of God. Every chance I got to come home from college we would have coffee, and all he would talk about was the goodness of God. He told me, "Grandson, instead of going out on the town on Friday nights, why don't you read the Bible." The rest is history.
Bishop Jim Higgins
New Life Christian Center, Tampa
I met him while I played in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, when one of my teammates invited me to his church. The Sunday I went, he preached a sermon titled "Stinking Thinking." That message was for me, and I became a member at New Life Christian Center in 1989. He told me, "One day you are going to preach." Well, he was right.
Dr. Shane Stutzman
Eastside Baptist, Orlando
I had the privilege of meeting him after I moved from Tampa to Orlando to play Arena Football. He invited me to speak to his youth group, and he molded me in my presentation and how to be the man of God I am today. I was his associate pastor for three years, and when the Lord called him to South Carolina I took over as lead pastor of that church for five years. His saying: "Doing whatever it takes to share Jesus."
