An American missionary’s family watched in horror as their worst nightmare unfolded before their eyes.
Four armed men stormed a church service with a specific target in mind.
And Elon Musk will be sickened after masked South African gunmen committed a ruthless abduction of an American missionary.
Tennessee pastor kidnapped at gunpoint while delivering sermon in South Africa
American missionary Josh Sullivan was delivering a sermon at Fellowship Baptist Church, Motherwell in Gqeberha, South Africa, when masked men burst into the sanctuary on Thursday evening.
The 45-year-old pastor from Tennessee was targeted by name and forcibly abducted at gunpoint in front of his terrified wife and children.
“They knew his name,” Jeremy Hall, the family’s spokesperson, told Herald LIVE. “The men came into the church and initially held Meagan [Sullivan’s wife] and walked her towards the door before saying, ‘Josh is this your wife’.”
The gunmen then “pushed” Meagan Sullivan to the ground before forcing the American pastor into his own vehicle and speeding away.
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Please pray for church planter missionary Josh Sullivan as he was abducted at gunpoint by 6 men who entered the church and stole everything and took him in his car. This happened in a township in Port Elisabeth, South Africa! Pray that the men would return pic.twitter.com/gjMLpN5S7L
— Daniel Duncan (@DanielDuncan_SC) April 10, 2025
Police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge confirmed the horrific details, telling local media that Sullivan was abducted by “four armed and masked men.” Authorities later recovered the pastor’s silver Toyota Fortuner abandoned “a few kilometers away” in Motherwell.
Sullivan family moved to Africa to establish church in 2018
The Sullivan family left their comfortable life in Tennessee to establish a church within the Xhosa-speaking community of South Africa six years ago.
Since November 2018, they’ve worked tirelessly through their Fellowship Baptist Church Motherwell, to assist the local community.
Now the family faces an unimaginable crisis as they wait for news about Josh’s whereabouts.
“We are just praying for his safe return,” Hall told reporters as the family deals with the traumatic aftermath of witnessing the abduction.
The U.S. State Department has acknowledged they’re aware of the reported kidnapping, telling the Daily Caller News Foundation they consider the safety of American citizens abroad of paramount importance, but provided no additional information about rescue efforts.
Kidnappings of church leaders increasing across Africa
What happened to Josh Sullivan is part of a disturbing trend sweeping across the African continent.
William Devlin, a pastor who was honored by the White House for supporting persecuted Christians, told the Daily Caller News Foundation that kidnappings of pastors have increased dramatically in recent years.
“This is a more and more common occurrence,” Devlin explained. “That’s one of the security issues as a pastor to the persecuted church, particularly in Nigeria, that I have to be concerned about.”
The situation has grown so dire that Devlin was shown a list of Catholic priests kidnapped in Nigeria over the past decade that spanned six pages.
“It’s a real thing. You go to Africa, and some of these countries you may get kidnapped and killed,” he warned.
Trump offered pathway to citizenship for South Africans fleeing violence
South Africa has experienced a significant rise in kidnappings carried out by criminal gangs in recent years, with abductors often targeting victims to demand large ransoms.
The security situation deteriorated so badly that in November 2024, the U.S. Department of State issued a travel advisory specifically warning Americans about “crime, civil unrest, and kidnapping” in South Africa.
President Donald Trump has recognized the escalating dangers, offering a “rapid pathway” to U.S. citizenship for South African farmers leaving the country due to violence.
So far, authorities haven’t indicated whether Sullivan’s abductors have made any ransom demands.
According to Herald LIVE, there were no warning signs leading up to the kidnapping, and investigators currently have no evidence suggesting this was done for ransom.
As the Sullivan family waits for word about their loved one, the local police have opened a kidnapping and armed robbery case. The South African Police Service, Motherwell, and Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) are actively investigating the abduction.
The attack on an American missionary brings renewed attention to the dangers faced by church leaders working in high-risk regions around the world.
