Alan E. Johnson retired in 2016 to International Falls, Minnesota, with his wife, Elaine. They are parents to three children and have four grandchildren. A son born to Elaine reconnected with them after fifty years.
Alan completed undergraduate studies with an Associate of Arts degree from Rainy River State Community College, International Falls, Minnesota, followed by an English teaching degree from Moorhead State College in Moorhead, Minnesota. He went on to receive a Master of Divinity degree from North Park Theological Seminary, Chicago, Illinois, and eventually a Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. Two years later he received certification as a Spiritual Director through the C. John Weborg Center in Chicago, Illinois. Alan served as a pastor to multiple congregations within the Evangelical Covenant Church for more than forty years.