Four armed, masked men kidnapped American pastor Josh Sullivan during a church service he was leading at Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell, South Africa, on Thursday, according to international media reports.
While the pastor was preaching to a congregation of roughly 30 people, which included his wife and six children, the men stole two phones and fled the church in the 45-year-old pastor’s silver Toyota Fortuner. Police later found the vehicle abandoned, but there was no trace of Sullivan, a 45-year-old Tennessee native.
A spokesperson for the US State Department told the BBC they are aware of the kidnapping of a US citizen in South Africa, emphasizing that “there is no higher priority than the safety and security of American citizens overseas.”
“The police are currently following all possible leads to locate the victim and apprehend the perpetrators,” said South Africa’s elite police unit spokesman, Lt. Col. Avele Fumba.
Jeremy Hall, a pastor based in the Eastern Cape province and the Sullivan family’s spokesperson,  said he witnessed the disturbing events unfold and told local newspaper Times Live that he was at the church with his wife and their children when the incident took place. “They knew his name,” he said.
Sullivan’s mother, Tonya Morton Rinker, wrote on Facebook that she was heartbroken over the news: “Our congressman and American embassy are working on finding him.”
Sullivan’s background
Josh Sullivan, a self-described “church planting missionary,” moved from Tennessee to South Africa in 2018 to establish a church for Xhosa-speaking people. He has been affiliated with Fellowship Baptist Church in Maryville since 2012.
Following his recent kidnapping, the church and others have called for prayers, and his wife, Maegan, expressed gratitude for the support, urging continued prayers for his safe return. His father-in-law described the situation as “really tense.”
Over the past decade, there has been a 264% increase in kidnappings in South Africa, according to police statistics.
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