Inferno Culture

A Mission of Evangelization for Working Laymen

 

The Crises

Prayer: it's hard; so few working laymen have personal prayer every day

Friendship: working laymen are surrounded by people but feel alone; many live in isolation

Evangelization: working laymen feel under-equipped to share the gospel; few evangelize

Masculinity: working laymen are seen as toxic or unnecessary; many recede into leisure

Action: working laymen don't feel empowered; life is easier on the sidelines

Sanctity: it’s hard to be a saint. It is also the calling for every man and we do it better together

 

Who We Are

We are working laymen: the “Joe Catholics” in the world; the family man in the pew; the hands and feet

We strive to be a saint: this is the most important thing in life; we aim high for eternity with God

We are busy: our family and career come first; we don’t have much time to give so we want it to have impact

We are successful: we are respected leaders and experts in the workforce and at home

We have much to offer: skills forged in the workplace can be put to use for God's Kingdom

We are motivated for our family: we will engage most deeply where our family and friends benefit

 

We pray: everything we do flows from the grace of prayer; without grace we can do nothing

We tithe: first fruits go to God; this is the least we can return to Him; we invest a portion in Inferno

We meetup: coffee, lunch, happy hour; we invest in friendships

We evangelize: evangelization by invitation; we meet new men and invite them to "come and see"

We are physical: we engage, play, and push ourselves actively and physically

We are rooted in scripture: we encounter The Living Word in the Bible; especially through Lectio Divina

We frequent the sacraments: we are active in our faith between Sundays

 

We yoke up: we are stronger together; we run alongside each other; we work under the same banner

We show up: we make sacrifices to show up for each other

We initiate & hustle: we work to create high quality environments of encounter for evangelization by invitation

We need help: we cannot go it alone; it takes a community to help raise our family in the faith

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What We Value

1. Loyalty to The Magisterium of The Catholic Church: always

2. Humility: get egos out of the way; no need for recognition; no focus on titles; ALL of the glory goes to God

3. Hospitality: “don’t serve the greatest message in the world in a paper bag; serve it on a silver platter”

4. Local Organic Growth: local, slow, deep growth in-person, man-to-man, friend-to-friend; doing life together

5. Equality: there is no "face" of Inferno; no “head” of the table; no titles needed; we are equal men on mission

6. Servant Leadership: “How can I help?”; focused on shared purpose: not power, authority, popularity, or ego

7. Empowerment: we say “yes”; we come alongside; we empower men toward their mission

8. Entrepreneurship: start something new, take risks, follow through, hussle

9. Biased-toward-action: do a thing, don’t overthink it, learn, evolve the next one; God’s got this

10. Driven by The Holy Spirit: we follow the daily guidance of The Holy Spirit: ask, listen, act

 

What We Say

“Battle to sainthood”: it’s a battle, it’s hard, let’s go!

“All glory be to God.”: give ALL of the glory to God, not me; AMDG

“Thanks be to God.”: give thanks to God for each good thing; AMDG

“¡VIVA CRISTO REY!”: Let’s Go! Go make disciples! Long Live Christ the King! (our battle cry)

“We made up the name 'Inferno'.”: it's just a word for us to rally around, a banner to unite our missions

“Honored to be on mission with you.”: we are on-mission together; my mission unites with yours

“Life is a Battleship not a Cruise Ship.”: men know that the Christian journey is tough and demands the cross

 

“Apostolate of friendship.”: we are friends, not projects or co-committee members

“Stronger together.”: Individually we can do great things through Christ, together we can do even more! 

“Leave no man left behind.”: don’t drop the ball; show up; follow up; don’t let a man fall through the cracks

“The man is the mission.”: our mission is for that one man; he’s the reason we’re here

“The man is the message.”: the presence of a man himself communicates a powerful message

“Win the man, win the fam.”: help lead a man to Christ, empower him, and he will lead his family

 

“Evangelization by invitation”: inviting a man to an environment of encounter with Christ is evangelization

“Do a thing.”: just get started and evolve, don’t wait and overthink

“Show up.”: God will do the rest

“The power of YES”: we often just need approval and encouragement to follow the call

“The need is the call.”: when we see a need, that is The Holy Spirit calling us to act

“Evangelization is not extra credit.”: evangelization is a fundamental part of the Christian life

“Unity and charity, not uniformity.": there are many legitimate expressions of the Catholic faith

“It’s a BIG Tent!”: not “left” (making the forbidden permissible) and not “right” (making the permissible obligatory), but universal!

 

“Fuel the fire.”: invest effort, skills, and tithe to grow the Inferno of evangelization

“Invest in impact.”: put our money where it will impact eternal souls in tangible ways

“Frugal but generous”: we strive for impact from every dollar yet generously invest in hospitality

“We don’t pass the hat.”: no collections; we aren’t quid-pro-quo

“Hand-to-hand combat.”: shake hands, hand out pamphlets, be the hands of Christ

“Short lines save souls.”: Efficiency removes small barriers to engagement; like short lines for Confession

 

“ROPE”: rite of passage experience; it’s a community experience of growth, not a one-time pass/fail

“Family first.”: if a man can’t come because he’s supporting his family, trust that he has his priorities right

“Next generation of Saints”: empowering the next generation to take over leading the battle to sainthood

“It takes 6-8 men to carry you when you die.”: what if they helped carry you today?

“Sometimes it takes 1,000 men to reach 1.”: cast the net wide, focus on the 1 man

“Blessed is the community that plants trees in whose shade they will never sit.”: think legacy
 

Words Matter

We say “Mission” instead of “Ministry”: we empower men on mission; we refer out for ministering of needs

We say “Meetups” instead of “Meetings”: we instigate meetups for mission; more personal than meetings

We say “Yoke Up” instead of “Disciple”: we have friendships and mentorships; we are all disciples of Christ (like Simon of Syrene).

We say “Investment” instead of “Donation”: we invest in the mission and have skin-in-the-game

We say “Inferno Lodge” instead of “Office”: a center of community for connecting and planning missions

We say “COR Community” instead of “Men’s Group”: men and their families doing life together

We say “Unite our Missions” instead of “Join Inferno”: we yoke up together; there is no membership=

We say “Financial Impact Team” instead of “Finance Council”: we are all about impact; not committees

We say “Environment of Encounter” instead of “Event”: we are not an “events” ministry; we gather to fuel the fire and empower (not create a cool event)
We say “COR” instead of “Small Group”: Men sharpening each other through prayer and friendship; COR means “heart” and it is the heart of the Inferno mission