When Performance is Not Enough

May 1, 2025 / by Justin Dalton

I grew up in rural Illinois in the 80’s/90’s. Everyone I knew went to church, but faith didn’t seem to be talked about or matter.

My family attended a rural evangelical church in the area. I don’t remember or at least if I did hear, I wasn’t ready to accept at the time the message of the gospel. With a lack of gospel understanding I began to develop the idea that serving and following a moral code gleaned from what I could pick up from church and society was how I should live my life. I thought that if I believed in God and did more right than wrong I would be accepted into heaven. Sadly I didn’t know a lot about how deep sin runs.

I went on believing this until college when my own moral code was challenged. I started taking part in more obvious sins that even went against my own limited moral code. My desire for church waned. Inwardly I was wrestling with the question of how do I know if I have a right standing before God.

My junior year I transferred to ISU and was set to live in the dorms. My floor Resident Assistant was an outspoken Christian and proclaimed on his whiteboard on his door that he loved Jesus. At the time, I thought that was odd. As I got to know him I started asking him about Christianity and we started reading the book of Matthew together. He invited my roommate and me to attend a Small Group and his church which met on campus on Sunday mornings. In the beginning he would wake us up out of bed with loud knocking when it was time to get ready for church. In this church and community I explicitly heard the gospel message and saw people my age living out authentic Christianity. God was included in everyday conversations. Towards the end of my junior year I finally understood and accepted the gospel and how I could have a relationship with God, not based on my performance, but on my acceptance of Jesus’ performance for me. I was later baptized the next fall.

Justin and his wife Sarah have attended East White Oak since the summer of 2024. They have three sons: Micah, Levi and Remy. In his free time he likes to play with his kids, coach his son’s youth sports, read, and play games.