Mission
Igniting a Culture of Evangelization that Empowers Men to Lead in the Battle for Sainthood
Our 3 pillars:
1) Prayer (it all starts with prayer)
2) Friendship (the arena for good news)
3) Evangelization (not optional, missional)
Our Annual Leadership Pledge challenges engaged "Bloodstained Allies" to 1) PRAY30 (30 minutes of daily prayer), 2) MEET3 (meet-up with 3 brothers each month), and 3) INVITE3 (Invite 3 brothers to an event/engagement each month)
Brotherhood helps us be more fully on mission in the battle for souls! We understand how this busy culture can isolate and emasculate you. It is TOUGH to be a present, proactive & committed husband and father. Inferno is here to help encourage & empower men, so together, we can lead our families, build up community, renew the church and become the saints we were created to be!
Inferno Men are broken beggars leading other beggars to the Bread of Life – shoulder to shoulder.
“I have come to set the world on fire and how I wish it were already blazing!” – Jesus (Luke 12:49)
Vision
Win the Man
Win the Fam
“Where there is no vision the people will perish.” – Proverbs 29:18
When dad attends church regularly, children are 70% more likely to attend than if he does not.
When a dad is the first to convert to the faith, there is a 93% likelihood that the rest of the family will follow (vs. 3% child; 15% mom first).*Promise Keepers
The importance of fathers being present in the home is staggering! 85% of youths in prison come from fatherless homes; 90% of runaway children, 63% of youth suicides; increased rates of depression, divorce, substance abuse, and a decreased education, income, and health when the father is not present at the home.
Did you know that 31% of Catholic men don't have a real, authentic friendship with another man? Did you know that men are 4x more likely to commit suicide than woman? Did you know that loneliness and isolation are more deadly than obesity, alcohol and cigarets COMBINED?! *Pew Research Study
“He will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers.”
(Malichi 4:6 & Luke 1:17)
Inferno Tactics - Model the Master
"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and FOLLOW ME." - Mark 8:34
Divine Intimacy
1 – COMMIT
Deep Interior Life of Prayer – Union – Identity (Divine Sonship)
Authentic Friendship
3 – CLAN (Brotherhood)
Fraternal Apostolate
12 – COR small group
(Tribe – Doing Life Together)
Spiritual Multiplication
72 – COMMISSION
Evangelize
(make disciple-makers - Matt 28:19)
Ignite a Culture of Evangelization
5,000 – COMMUNITY
Combat/Impact Culture – Flowing to and from the church (domestic, local and universal)
"The Harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few. GO! I am sending you like lambs among wolves!" - Jesus (Luke 10)
COR VALUES
AUTHENTICITY
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Humility: One broken beggar leading another broken beggar to the Bread of Life – Shoulder to Shoulder
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Vulnerability: When we open our heart in front of a bro, the Holy Spirit shows up and heals!
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Confidentiality: We aren’t in the business of keeping secrets, but everything shared in confidence is that man’s business to share or to not share with others
FRIENDSHIP
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Radical Hospitality: High-quality, seeing from others’ perspectives, welcoming
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Personal: Favor personal interactions over impersonal and broadcast communication
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Accompaniment: Shoulder-to-shoulder journey to being saints
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Openness: Open to new friendships, breaking out of cliques
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Empathy: Identifying with others and sincerely caring for their point-of-view & well-being
COURAGE
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Toughness to venture out of the comfort zone and doing “hard things”
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Discipleship demands Discipline and Evangelization is not optional!
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It takes courage to be humble, authentic & vulnerable.
COR BELIEFS
Our Statement of Faith is the "Apostles’ Creed" and we boldly follow the teachings of Jesus and His One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church.
We Believe that the God of the universe chose to transform the world by living faithfully at home for 90% of His life, pouring Himself into a small group of men and dying as a criminal. He went camping with 12 dudes for 3 years ... and it worked!
We Believe that we can no longer stay silent, do nothing and be content losing (Rom 1:16)!
We Believe the culture will be converted in the confessional booth, not the election booth (Jesus lost the only election He participated in; vs Barabas – a nameless criminal)! "Repent and Believe!" - Mark 1:15
We Believe that Friendship is the arena for Evangelization & you don’t get extra credit or bonus points for Evangelization (it is central to the Gospel)!
We Believe that the Primary Role of the Church is to Evangelize! (Pope Paul IV)
We Believe that we were born for greatness, are forged in the fire, strengthened by brotherhood and ignited on mission for the Kingdom!
We are not another Program
We are not lonely men seeking to fill our calendar
We are not an "events ministry"
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We are working laymen, striving after the Sacred Heart of Jesus, determined to be a saint and have found that we do this better together!
In a culture of darkness, deceit and death, we are in critical need of the Way, the Truth and the LIFE! (John 14:6)
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
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