Eldon grew up in a church that he considered very legalistic, where, he says, "It was not that teenagers sinned — we were sin." Consequently, he became cynical about Christianity, set aside his childhood commitment to Christ, and decided he might as well live out the church's low expectations for him. As far as he was concerned, there was no God.

At the same time, Eldon couldn't shake his respect for his maternal grandparents. While others fueled his opinions about the hypocrisy of Christians, Eldon says, the faith of his grandparents "was not [just] a Sunday-morning faith. They made tough decisions out of their faith."

Throughout his youth and young adulthood, Eldon experienced several dramatic spiritual moments, leading to a growing awareness that he may have been wrong about God. Each time, he shook off the feeling, only to have the reality of God's presence seep back into his life again and again. These encounters culminated at three o'clock on a Sunday morning as he drove home from a date, his eyes heavy from lack of sleep. As his car swerved from the road toward the river beside him, the lights of an oncoming car woke him just in time. Narrowly escaping tragedy, Eldon granted, "Maybe you're there [God], but I [still] can't believe in the God I've been taught about."

In college he recommitted his life to Christ, and Eldon and his wife, Ginger, embarked on a life of ministry. But it was not until Eldon was the 27-year-old youth and college pastor of a South Dakota church that he truly realized God loved him. There, at a renewal weekend, the couple personally encountered the power of God's love for the first time, tearing down barriers caused by disagreements, and joining the congregation in reconciliation.

When Eldon next moved to a Kansas church separated by racial, ethnic, economic, and theological differences, he didn't forget what he had witnessed in South Dakota. He had experienced God's healing power firsthand. "I preached for way too long, from a lot of basic texts, about 'God loves you.' My wife said to me, 'Are you ever going to preach about something else?' I said, 'No. Not until we get this.'" Eldon had learned the power of incarnational ministry. He was about to apply it in another new setting.

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