It is the main church for the Fosnes parish which is part of the Namdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

Not much is known about that church, but it was described in 1750 as a wooden building that was painted red with a slate roof.

A royal resolution from 24 September 1898 ordered that the new parish church should be built in the village of Dun, in the middle of the island of Jøa about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) to the southwest of the old church site since that was more centrally located for the population of the island and less likely to be damaged by storms and lightning as it was further inland.

So, a new timber-framed long church was designed by Ole Scheistrøen and it was built in village of Dun.

In 1926, a small Fosnes Chapel was constructed on the historic church site where the cemetery remained.