Hager grew up in Hudsonville, Michigan He graduated from Calvin seminary in 1968 and worked as a Christian Reformed street minister for five years at the Grand Rapids Youth Ministry. After completing a Masters degree in Pastoral Counseling, he worked at an ecumenical counseling ministry in Grand Rapids, serving for five of those years as Executive Director. In 1990 he transferred his ministry credentials to the United Church of Christ. In 1997 he left Grand Rapids with his wife, Ruth, to fulfill their dream of living and traveling fulltime in an RV and to pursue his passion for writing. Hager