Former University of Alabama running back Siran Stacy, right, and East Highland Baptist Church Pastor Eric Mattox met last month to discuss Stacy’s testimonial. He is speaking at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, June 8, at the church.

Former University of Alabama running back Siran Stacy is visiting Athens this Sunday but his purpose isn’t to sign autographs or coach at a football camp.

Instead, the Geneva native will deliver his testimonial about faith and rebounding from personal loss at 10:30 a.m. at East Highland Baptist Church. The event is open to the public.

In 2007, Stacy lost his wife and four of his five children in an accident involving his van and a vehicle driven by an intoxicated driver. Stacy and his daughter, Shelly, were injured but survived the wreck, which happened near Dothan.

Since the accident, Stacy, 45, has started Siran Stacy Ministries in Nashville, Tennessee. Through his ministry, he frequently speaks to congregations throughout the Southeast.

“I could have decided not to come out of it,” Stacy said in a past testimonial at Meadowbroook Baptist Church in Oxford. “But I came back. I told the devil to get away, and I came back.”

Billy Hunt, who works for an Athens attorney, is a friend of Stacy’s. A house fire this spring killed two young girls in Decatur, and Hunt said Stacy spoke to the girls’ grief-stricken father and was able to help lift his spirits.

“I called Siran about three weeks ago and he spoke to the father that lost his 2-year-old and 4-year-old daughters in the fire,” Hunt said. “Siran was headed to Gene Stallings’ golf tournament, and he spent two hours with the father … God works so mysteriously but you’ll see what’s going on if you watch.”

Hunt said Stacy’s testimonial is powerful because of the way he has dealt with losing so much of his immediate family.

“I’ve gone to four different churches and listened to him talk — he’s very uplifting,” he said.

East Highland is located at 23315 Nick Davis Road. For more information, call 256-232-7066.