A few months ago, a group of Christian men in Columbus talked about bringing former mob boss turned Christian speaker Michael Franzese to the city to speak to men about his life and faith.
But the event ended up being a catalyst for a larger conversation and idea.
“The more we talked about it, we’re like, ‘You know what? It’s not like we just are doing this event, just to have an event,’” group member Kevin Cuthbertson said. “We want a longer purpose in this, a longer goal in this and that’s where it’s grown from.”
The conversation sparked the formation of Columbus 2717, a group focused on helping strengthen and support men in the Columbus community. Cuthbertson, who is the senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Columbus, said the group’s name was inspired by Proverbs 27:17, which speaks of men helping each other grow and iron sharpening iron.
“I’m excited because it’s an opportunity for men of all races to come together and hopefully develop a dialogue that will help bring the community together,” said group member Leroy Brooks.
The group, which now consists of about 10 men, will host Franzese for its first event at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Trotter Convention Center. The event is free to men above the age of 13, and doors open at 6 p.m.
Franzese grew up as the son of an underboss for the Colombo crime family in New York before becoming a mob boss himself, earning between $5 million and $8 million each week at his peak, Franzese’s website said. But after meeting his wife, Franzese walked away from the mob and became a Christian.
Cuthbertson said the group wanted to find someone who would draw interest from the community, and after hearing Franzese’s story at his former church in Atlanta, he knew the group found the guy.
“His story is fascinating,” Cuthbertson said. “And so we reached out, we were able to make it happen, and I think the gist of his story is … whatever you grew up in, whatever your life was or even is, right now, there’s something better. … There’s a better life, that we are called to a better hope and a better reality, and we wanted to present that here.”
While the group was brought together by a number of Christian men, it welcomes men of any background in Columbus to come and get involved, Cuthbertson said.
“We truly believe that this event can encourage and challenge the men of this city and the tasks that they’ve been given,” Cuthbertson said. “Whether that’s as a husband, as a father, as a worker, I believe this is worth people’s time to come to and I really hope they come.”
While the group is new, there are hopes to have more events in the future, Cuthbertson said.
“I hope that this group will be the catalyst for meetings in the future and dialogue in the future, and conversations and setting some goals and objectives in terms of what it is this group wants to do and what role it can play,” Brooks said.
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