An American missionary, Pastor Josh Sullivan, has been kidnapped by armed men while preaching at his church in South Africa, authorities confirmed on Friday.
The 45-year-old pastor was abducted on Thursday evening during a prayer meeting at the Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell, just outside the coastal city of Gqeberha. Around 30 people, including his wife and six children, were present when the attack took place.
According to police, four masked men stormed the church mid-sermon, robbed two mobile phones, and then forcibly took Pastor Sullivan with them before fleeing the scene.
“It is alleged that while a sermon was being conducted at the church, four armed and masked male suspects entered the church,” police said in a statement. “They robbed two cell phones and then took the 45-year-old male pastor with them and fled the scene.”
Reverend Jeremy Hall, a fellow pastor in the area, told AFP the kidnappers addressed Sullivan by name, suggesting he may have been specifically targeted. Authorities suspect the abduction was a kidnapping for ransom.
Sullivan and his family moved from Tennessee to South Africa in November 2018 to carry out missionary work, according to his website.
The incident comes amid a sharp rise in abductions in South Africa, with police reporting more than 17,000 cases during the 2023/2024 financial year—an 11% increase from the previous year. Just days earlier, a Chinese national was also abducted in Gqeberha.
South Africa’s police anti-gang unit has launched an investigation into the case.