South Africa Police Rescue Missionary Kidnapped at Gunpoint

The TN missionary, previously robbed, ‘knew of the dangers’ yet chose to stay

Josh Sullivan with his wife and children / Photo via Motherwell website

A TN missionary to South Africa who was reportedly kidnapped and held for ransom has been safely recovered following a shootout that left three dead.

On Thursday, April 10, as 45-year-old missionary Josh Sullivan stood in the pulpit of the Fellowship Baptist Church during a prayer meeting of about 30 attendees—including his wife, Meagan, and their six children. At least four masked men stormed into the church and kidnapped the pastor at gunpoint.

The incident happened at around 7 p.m. local time. The armed men stole two cell phones from parishioners and drove away with Sullivan in his truck.

Jeremy Hall, spokesman for the Sullivan family, told local newspaper TimesLive that the kidnappers “knew his name.”

According to Hall, the men entered the church, initially held Meagan, and walked her toward the door before saying, “Josh, is this your wife?” They then pushed her to the ground and took Josh before driving off in his vehicle, Hall said. Police later found Sullivan’s abandoned truck about a mile from the church.

South African Police Lt. Gen. Avele Fumba confirmed to ABC News that the agency’s elite Hawks unit was investigating the case.

Since February 2012, Sullivan has been on the staff at the Fellowship Baptist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. In 2021, the couple set up a local branch of the Fellowship Baptist Church in the Motherwell area, a township near the seaport city of Gqeberha in the country’s Eastern Cape province.

On the day of the kidnapping, the Tennessee church shared, “Please pray for Josh Sullivan, missionary to South Africa. He was kidnapped at gunpoint by six men during their church service this evening.”

For five days, news about Josh Sullivan spread amongst churches, with many sharing social media posts, such as “Pray for the Sullivans.” Many commenters said their churches were praying for him and his family during services.

On the morning of April 16, the South African Police Service announced its Hawks team had successfully rescued the missionary.

According to the statement, the team’s investigation led them to a safe house in KwaMagxaki, Gqeberha, on Tuesday, April 15. They spotted a vehicle on the premises where, inside, suspects reportedly attempted to flee and opened fire, prompting a high-intensity shootout. Three unidentified suspects were fatally wounded.

The release says they found Sullivan inside the same vehicle used in the attack and he was “remarkably unharmed.” Medics immediately treated Sullivan and he is in “excellent condition,” it says.

The Sullivans first arrived in South Africa in 2015 for a six-month internship during their Bible training, which sparked their passion for serving the Xhosa people. Sullivan is fluent in the local Xhosa language, and the couple has taken in two Xhosa children to raise along with their four children.

Sullivan’s home church pastor, Tom Hatley, told Fox News that Sullivan and his wife were fully aware of the risks involved in their missionary work in a high-crime coastal region, having previously experienced robberies. Despite these dangers and the scarcity of missionaries among the local tribal and coastal populations, Sullivan is committed to spreading the gospel and was considered a pioneer in reaching these communities, said Hatley.

Four months ago, in a live discussion posted by Fellowship Baptist Church in Tennessee, Sullivan and his wife recounted stories of being robbed in South Africa.

“Robbing is a very common occurrence. It’s super common,” Sullivan said in the video.

His wife then recounted a time when a local robbed her and took her new iPhone.

“The crime doesn’t stem from gangs. There’s gangs…but that’s not where the crime stems from,” Meagan Sullivan told the church. She said many locals are in a” hopeless situation” and  “can’t put food on the table.”

Sullivan’s abduction comes amid a soaring kidnapping rate in South Africa over the last 10 years, fueled by armed robberies.

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In a December 2024 report, the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Africa noted that kidnappings in South Africa have surged by 264% over the past decade, rising from 4,692 cases in 2014/15 to 17,061 in 2023/24. The latest quarterly crime statistics, released on November 25, 2024, indicate that the upward trend continues. However, the report notes that kidnapping for ransom often makes headlines, driving the perception that this is a widespread and growing crime. Still, police link less than 5% of all kidnappings reported to ransom demands, human trafficking, or extortion.

Vision Baptist Missions, which facilitates missionary support for the Sullivans, released a statement in response, thanking Christians for their prayers and authorities for working to rescue the missionary.

“If you’re reading this and wondering why Josh would be a missionary and risk his life for the gospel, it’s because he knows what Jesus has done for him and what Jesus offers the whole world,” it says.

“Josh’s rescue is a powerful reminder of the spiritual rescue that every soul needs. Billions around the world are still held captive by sin and spiritual darkness. There are still tribes, tongues, and nations who have never heard the name of Jesus even once,” the statement says.

“Will you let Josh’s story challenge you? He risked everything for the cause of Christ. Will you pray for the Lord to send more laborers into His harvest? Will you go?”