River of Hope is led by Senior Pastor Joshua Kohl and his wife, Lacey. Pastor Josh and Lacey were united in marriage in August of 2009. They have three daughters they adopted from Haiti.

Pastor Josh is a graduate of DSOM (District School of Ministry). Josh and Lacey have a long history of serving at River of Hope and first came to River of Hope to lead the Children’s Ministry, now known as Kidz of Hope. Pastor Josh served faithfully in this role for many years, until God called him into the Senior Pastor position.

This calling was affirmed by the church on Easter Sunday in 2018. Pastor Josh believes that church can be fun and exciting while still worshiping and learning deep truths about God. This is reflected in the series and messages that he preaches such as “At The Movies," "Game Shows" and "Board Games”.

Lacey has always worked behind the scenes. While Pastor Josh is the dreamer, Lacey is the one who makes these dreams a reality. Lacey is gifted in administration and on any given Sunday, you will find Lacey working behind the scenes making sure Sunday services go as well as possible.

Pastor Joshua and Lacey live in Medford with their two bulldogs and their three daughters.

Worship at River of Hope is lead by Alexa Rinehart. Alexa is native of Pennsylvania after earning a bachelors degree from Visible Music College, Alexa heard God call her to move to Wisconsin. In her own words Alexa said that when she first entered River of Hope “I felt like I was home, this was where I was supposed to be”. This was not the call Alexa was expecting and she even fought the call. ” I went back home to PA trying to run from God, “God kept reminding me that Wisconsin was where I was supposed, the whole way back to WI I cried, but I knew I had to follow his call.”

Alexa went quickly from playing in worship to leading worship. Alexa brings a passion to worship because she knows it is through music, and worship that we can access God in great ways.

In 2017 Alexa and Danny were united in marriage. Danny promptly joined River of Hope, and joined our worship team where he brings his talent of playing guitar to each worship experience. Danny also has a bachelors degree from Visible Music College. Just like Alexa, Danny has a great passion for music.

Danny and Alexa also have their own band “Awaken the Desolate”. Their music reaches out to young people who are lost in despair, and depression. The lyrics of their music taken from personal experiences relate to these issues, and they then point the way to hope for all is Jesus Christ.

Jacob Van Veen came to River of Hope as an intern, while pursuing his credentials with the Assembly of God. As his internship came to an end Jacob accepted the position as Children's Pastor.

Jacob is committed to partnering with you and God in developing a strong faith in the children of River of Hope. He likes presenting biblical truths to children at their level while making it fun and entertaining. You can rest easy knowing your kids will learn about God.