A newly formed Christian action group in Syracuse will bring Fox News host Mike Huckabee to its kick-off banquet next month.

Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential candidate, will speak at the conference center at Driver’s Village in Cicero on Oct. 13.

Proceeds from the banquet will go to Ten Good Men, a nonprofit Christian organization formed by David Long, president of Heritage Tire Sales in Syracuse. Long said he came up with the idea as a way of bringing Christian values to the forefront of American life. He envisions the movement branching out from Syracuse to 300 cities nationwide.

The group's website declares that a key part of its mission is "to play a vital role in calling many more believers into the battle for the soul of America and provide them with the means to make a change from where they live and from within their current callings."

Long says the organization will promote a “bottom-up movement of cultural change and activity” by teaching people how to bring their Christian beliefs more to bear on community life.

“A foundational belief of ours is that there are a whole lot of Christians who would think they should do something, who are concerned about the direction of society and are maybe not sure what to do,” he said. “We want to be part of the answer.”

He said the name Ten Good Men comes from the Biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah, in which God threatened to destroy the cities if 10 righteous men could not be found. They could not, and the cities were destroyed.

Long said that although the story has been linked to homosexuality, that will not be an issue for his group. He said that in the story as told in Ezekiel, the fact that the wealthy in those cities did nothing to help the poor was really the key to their destruction.

The alleviation of poverty will be a major focus of the organization, he said. He said he could not predict what shape that work would take.

He did say the group will likely work to improve or find alternatives to the academic and moral values imparted by public schools.

Another big issue for Ten Good Men is abortion, he said. He said he expects the prayer teams to become involved in how to help women find alternatives to abortion. The group will hold both local and out-of-town training sessions, and a major event in Philadelphia on Jan. 22 will focus on the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade and on the founding of the United States.

Tickets to the Oct. 13 banquet, which will run from 7 to 9 p.m., are $50 if bought before Saturday and $60 if purchased after. Those willing to pay $1,000 can attend a 5 p.m. reception that includes a photo opportunity with Huckabee. The event is cosponsored by Roger Burdick, president of Drivers Village Inc.

Contact Paul Riede at priede@syracuse.com or 470-3260.