Adam M. L. Tice was born in Pennsylvania, and grew up in Alabama, Oregon, and Indiana. After graduating from high school in Elkhart, Indiana, Adam went to nearby Goshen College, a Mennonite liberal arts school. He majored in music with an emphasis on composition and completed a minor in Bible and religion, graduating in 2002. He began working as a church musician and choir director while still in college.

Adam took his first course at the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in the fall of 2003, which led to the writing of his initial hymn text. In 2004, Adam was named a Lovelace Scholar by the Hymn Society of the United States and Canada. He served as a member of the Society's executive committee from 2007 to 2010.

He was Associate Pastor of Hyattsville (Maryland) Mennonite Church from 2007 to 2012. He now lives with his family in Goshen, Indiana.