- A U.S. pastor was allegedly kidnapped by a group of men during a service at his church in South Africa this week
- Josh Sullivan is believed to have been taken along with two phones and his silver Toyota Fortuner — which was later found abandoned — police told the BBC
- The Fellowship Baptist Church has since asked others to “please pray” for the missionary
A pastor from the United States was allegedly kidnapped by multiple armed men during a service at his church in South Africa.
Missionary Josh Sullivan is believed to have been abducted on the evening of Thursday, April 10, at the Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell, outside the city of Gqeberha, according to multiple reports and a post on Facebook from the Tennessee-based Fellowship Baptist Church.
“Please pray for Josh Sullivan, missionary to South Africa,” the church wrote in a statement. “He was kidnapped at gunpoint by six men during their church service this evening.”
Both the AFP (via CBS News) and the BBC later reported, citing local police in South Africa, that “four armed and masked male suspects entered” the church during a sermon.
Police spokesman Captain Andre Beetge told the BBC that the men allegedly stole two phones before fleeing the scene in Sullivan’s silver Toyota Fortuner — which police later found abandoned with no trace of the pastor.
“We’re asking that everybody pray for Josh. I came out here to ask for prayer,” Sullivan’s father-in-law, David Witt, told local station WVLT. “We’re in a really tense situation right now.”
“It’s terrifying. They never set out to hurt anybody or do anything. I can’t believe this has happened,” added Christina McMillin, who works with the pastor’s wife. “I hope they find him soon and he’s okay.”
Rev. Jeremy Hall, a pastor in the same city, told the AFP (via CBS News) that the alleged kidnapping was likely “financially related.” He claimed it took place during a prayer meeting with about 30 people, including Sullivan’s wife and six kids.
“They knew him by name,” Hall said of the men who allegedly abducted the religious leader.
A U.S. Department of State spokesperson tells PEOPLE that the organization is aware that a U.S. citizen was kidnapped in South Africa.
The spokesperson adds that there is no “greater priority than the safety and security of US citizens abroad.”
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Beetge told both the BBC and the AFP that, if a ransom is demanded, a case would be handed over to the specialized Hawks police unit, which investigates organized and commercial crime. He said, per the AFP, that “there has been no ransom raised.”
“The police are currently following all possible leads to locate the victim and apprehend the perpetrators,” Hawks spokesman, Lt. Col. Avele Fumba said, per the BBC.
Sullivan has been on staff at the Fellowship Baptist Church since February 2012, training under pastor Tom Hatley. The following year, he “accepted the call to go the mission field in South Africa,” before arriving in November 2018, the church said in a social media post.
On Facebook, Hatley asked friends to “pray for his safe return.”
Kidnappings have increased by 264% over the past decade in South Africa, according to statistics from the South African Police Service.
A Chinese national was also kidnapped in the area days earlier, the police anti-gang unit confirmed to the AFP (via CBS News.)
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