08/20/2026
Alumni Highlight: Josh Golackson (MDiv ’14)
Josh believes in the power of multiplication. In addition to being the father of eight children and serving as Senior Pastor of Living Stone Church (Oshkosh, WI), he leads the NXTGEN Cohort, part of the On Wisconsin Church Planting Network—a effort among PCA churches across Wisconsin to plant healthy, gospel-preaching churches throughout the state.
NXTGEN Cohort seeks to nurture future pastors by providing young men with a call to ministry with training, mentoring, and community as they prepare for the pastorate. It began nine years ago when Wisconsin church leaders recognized the need to raise up pastors and church leaders from within their own communities.
Josh knows firsthand the challenge of pursuing seminary training while remaining rooted in local ministry. He describes his seminary journey as somewhat “haphazard,” having completed his training while serving as a Cru missionary in East Asia. He would later become an important conversation partner for RTS as the seminary considered the value and need for a Hybrid MDiv model—a flexible and organized approach to in-person seminary education that allows students to remain in their local communities while receiving rigorous theological training.
On Wisconsin’s partnership with RTS grew out of a simple question: “How do we get guys to stay in Wisconsin?” The answer is already bearing fruit. Nine men have completed their MDiv degrees, 24 are currently in the program—including 12 RTS Hybrid MDiv students—and Josh has seen a fourth generation church plant emerge from the network.
When asked how the Hybrid MDiv has become an essential part of training the network’s church planters, Josh says, “The Lord is doing a great work…it’s a great time to tap into this with a generation that’s more mobile.”
Scholarship support has been an essential part of making this possible. Through the Next Gen Fund, established and supported by RTS and its donors, cohort members from the On Wisconsin Church Planting Network receive a 50% scholarship toward their tuition. Combined with support from their presbytery and local churches, this significantly reduces the financial burden of seminary education, making it possible for more men to receive theological training while preparing to serve the church.
Through this partnership, RTS donors are helping to equip pastors who will plant churches, disciple believers, and raise up the next generation of ministry leaders.
