Authorities in South Africa have confirmed the abduction of an American missionary who was taken while preaching at his church near the city of Gqeberha.
Josh Sullivan, a U.S. pastor, was kidnapped Thursday evening during a service at Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell, a township on the outskirts of the southeastern coastal city.
The incident appears to be financially motivated, according to those familiar with the case.
Local police reported that four masked men, armed with guns, stormed into the church while the service was in progress.
“The suspects took two mobile phones before forcing a 45-year-old pastor to leave with them,” the police stated.
Reverend Jeremy Hall, a colleague based in the same region, suggested the kidnappers may have specifically targeted Sullivan for ransom.
He was conducting a prayer meeting attended by around 30 people, including his wife and six children, when the attackers arrived.
“They addressed him by name,” Hall noted. Sullivan was reportedly forced into his own car at gunpoint. The vehicle was later found abandoned less than two kilometers from the scene.
According to Sullivan’s personal website, he and his family moved from Tennessee to South Africa in November 2018 to carry out missionary work.
The city of Gqeberha has recently seen other kidnapping cases, including the abduction of a Chinese citizen earlier in the same week, as confirmed by police anti-gang units.
Kidnapping for ransom has become a growing concern in South Africa. Police records show over 17,000 reported cases in the 2023/2024 financial year—an 11% rise from the previous year.