StoryHill Church

About an hour away from the Lake Shore of Lake Michigan is the village of Mukwonago, Wisconsin. Although this village only has a population of under 10,000, this is a place where the Holy Spirit called Josh Koskinen and his family to. Not only were they answering the call Christ gave them, but they poured love into the recent church plant, StoryHill Church. 

StoryHill Church Logo

Josh, his wife Emily of 18 years, and their 4 boys, ranging from 11-16, are deeply engrained in God’s calling. Josh mentioned that his faith journey started when he was a child, as he grew up in church.  

Josh said that his faith has been present throughout his childhood and into his adult life. He expressed a great love for the Lord, but more specifically, he mentioned his love of being involved with the youth.  

When he was in high school, Josh was faced with the choice of taking over his father’s business or heading into ministry. When talking about this, he was met with someone who questioned the path Josh was headed on. Josh had said no to ministry, couldn’t shake the questions that he had been given about ministry. 

In a last-minute choice, he attended a preview weekend that was going on at a Christian College and made his choice to attend that college for ministry. What his path was specifically, he didn’t know quite yet, but this would come later in his college career.  

After freshman year, Josh had the choice of his major in college. When faced with this question, he originally wanted to do student ministry all in eventual major for Josh, which was Pastoral Leadership.  

After this declaration, Josh wasn’t going to fight this path. He discovered a heart for the church outside of student ministry. This was a shock in a way from the 10 years that he had been involved with student ministry.  

Josh and his wife Emily

Still, this love of youth ministry came back powerfully as Josh became a youth pastor in a church in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, at a non-denominational church. This building that he started in after college would later become StoryHill church. Younger Josh didn’t know the specifics of what God was planning, but he did feel called to this building throughout this journey. 

In 2017, the call from God became palpable. Josh found himself having the call, but not exactly knowing the next step. In what looks like the Holy Spirit moving, Josh opened Facebook and saw a post that John Freed had made, and it said 

“Looking for Church Planters in Mukwonago, Wisconsin”. 

Josh felt his pull and messaged John.  

The rest comes from the grace of God in their story and journey. After this seemingly unlikely meeting, this then became a choice for Josh to discern with his family.

Was it time to do this and to plant a church? 

The answer was a resounding yes, both from family and from the Lord’s calling.  

While this process is beautiful, Church planting is not without hardships. In every hardship that Josh experienced, he felt the presence of God letting him know to give everything to Him. This feeling came around several times as financial questions arose, loneliness crept in, and anxieties brewed. Josh mentioned that he asked himself the question, 

“Does God want me to do this?” 

This question became a surrender of everything that Josh had pressing on him. These moments of tribulation proved to be moments of surrender to the highest God. 

In these surrendering moments, God gave affirmations that Josh could feel. These included God showing up in ways only He could. Josh mentioned,

“You can't do it alone, so you have to give it to God to let him take control of it. You have to come face to face with your weaknesses and then surrender them.”  

Josh also mentioned how, when in the prelaunch for StoryHill church that there was a woman named Colleen who came to know Christ from attending prelaunch events. She was one of the first people baptized at StoryHill church when it opened.  

Josh said that StoryHill is for the Colleens who didn’t know Christ before and came to know Him through a community and a church that are welcoming to those who don’t know Jesus. 

Josh has had a personal impact on his family, watching as those around him get involved with the church that previously weren’t. He has watched more family members come to know Christ, and that is just the beginning of the ripple effect God has on a community and within a church. 

In the end, Josh said that he empathizes with those who don’t know Jesus and that he doesn’t know what it is like to feel lost. What he does know is that God is powerful and good. He knows that God can guide him through surrender to help those who are lost come to know Christ. 

StoryHill church is a landscape of how the way we interact in our community through surrender to the Holy Spirit can majorly change how people view the church, but most importantly, how they can grow into a relationship with Jesus.