Robert Dargatz was born in Detroit, Michigan on October 31, 1950 to Arthur and Corky Dargatz. He has one younger brother, Ken, who lives in Michigan.

After Robert graduated from public high school he attended Concordia Junior College in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he earned an Associate of Arts Degree. He picked up a few summer classes at Wayne State University in Detroit. He went to senior college in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and graduated with a B.A. concentrating in Speech in 1972. He decided to attend Concordia Theological Seminary in Springfield where he majored in New Testament and minored in Systematic Theology. He worked as a work study student for Professor Dale Hartmann who had a big influence on him and trained him in congregational evangelism. He spent his vicarage year in San Diego. He graduated from the seminary with a MDiv. degree in 1976 but started work on a Master of Sacred Theology degree and so delayed being assigned to a parish. Concordia College, Ann Arbor, decided to call Robert to serve as a resident counselor and instructor in Religion. After one year of service in Ann Arbor, Robert was led to accept a Divine Call to Christ College, Irvine, where he served under President Charles Manske and was reunited with Professor Hartmann, now his colleague. He has done graduate work at UCLA and Concordia Seminary in St. Louis.

In 1982 he met his life's mate on an evangelism call. Their marriage has been blessed with three children.

Robert has had the privilege of serving on the Pacific Southwest District's Mission Board, as a District counselor for the LWML, on Synod's Commission on Theology and Church Relations, and on the Commission on Doctrinal Review of the LC-MS. He was installed as Pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church on Sunday, August 9, 1998.