Cobb's 40th Annual Prayer Breakfast Hopes to Feature Words of Former Presidents

For 40 years straight, Cobb leaders have gathered early on a spring morning to connect over prayer, coffee and the chance to hear from world-class leaders.

The annual Cobb County Prayer Breakfast will take place on May 2, drawing hundreds of citizens and dignitaries to the Cobb Galleria for one of the largest prayer breakfasts in the country.

The Cobb event launched in 1985 by a dozen original founders — a group of local business, religious and civic leaders who worked in partnership with the Cobb Chamber of Commerce. One of those people was Virgil Moon, a retired CPA who has held various roles in the county government.

“Not a lot of things last 40 years anymore,” Moon said. “We all think it’s because the Lord has blessed us and we need to give thanks every year.”

The first breakfast was at the Cobb County Civic Center and saw 500 guests. Moon added there would have been more people, had there been more parking.

That year’s prayer leader was former Gov. Joe Frank Harris, and others featured in the program included former Cobb Chairman Earl Smith, renowned gospel singer Babbie Mason and former Gov. Roy Barnes, who was then a state senator.

Barnes will be one of the two prayer leaders at this year’s event, alongside Maj. Gen. Thomas Carden, leader of the Georgia National Guard. Mason will once again be back to perform hymns this May.

“I’m going to pray for the divisions that have arisen in the country, that we come back to a common belief and a common sense of decency toward each other,” Barnes said. “... It’s important for communities to come together to emphasize the things that we agree upon rather than talking about all the things that divide.”

Moon said that the event, put on by the nonprofit he helped start with the same name, is run on a “breakeven basis,” and that after that first breakfast, the organization was $500 short.

Faced with the threat of being a one-year wonder, Moon said a local businessman stepped in, writing a check to cover the breakfast’s remaining balance. Over the last four decades, Moon said, the community has continued to bless the ceremony in similar ways.

That includes 1999, when former U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was the prayer leader and then-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich was a guest.

Moon said it was up to the nonprofit to find a way to get Thatcher to and from Dallas and Gingrich to and from Chicago, where they both had been on unrelated trips.

Once again, a local businessman saved the day, supplying his private plane to transport both dignitaries, free of charge.

“That was a God thing. Because we never would’ve been able to afford that,” Moon said.

Other A-listers who have attended the event include Ambassador Andrew Young, Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy, actor Charlton Heston and former UGA football coach Mark Richt.

The breakfast is held every year on the National Day of Prayer, which was designated a national holiday in 1952 by then-President Harry Truman. Spearheaded by evangelical Christians, the celebration has been expanded to include people of all faiths.

“No matter what their political affiliation is, what their religion is, we don’t turn anybody away. It’s open to everybody just like God loves everybody, and we want everybody to be there that can be there and wants to be there,” Moon said.

Retired Cobb County banker Joe Daniell, another one of the event’s founders, said guests will hopefully be able to hear from all the former living presidents and governors of Georgia.

“We’re sending letters to former President Trump, President Biden, and all the other former presidents still living,” Daniell said. “It’s also going to the current governor (of Georgia) and the former governors that are still living.”

The organizers have reached out to the leaders asking for their favorite hymn, Bible verse and an answer to one simple question: “What is the importance of a national day of prayer?”

Daniell said while the officials have yet to respond, he knows his answer.

“It pulls everybody together, even with different political persuasions. It’s a common denominator for everybody,” Daniell said. “I think we can all come together and agree that we need to get together and hold each other up in prayer on occasion. It’s good for everybody involved.”

Tickets for the Cobb County Prayer Breakfast are on sale now. For purchase, or more information on the event, visit: CobbCountyPrayerBreakfast.org.