An American pastor who was kidnapped by armed men while preaching a sermon in South Africa last week was rescued days later as part of a remarkable mission, according to law enforcement.
As Blaze News previously reported, Josh Sullivan was preaching during a Thursday evening service at the Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell — a township outside Gqeberha in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province. Suddenly four armed men abducted Sullivan, who is from Tennessee, in front of his wife and six children.
‘Thank you for your support and prayers. Please do not stop praying for the Sullivans.’
The Hawks — a specialized police unit that investigates organized crime, economic crime, corruption, and other serious crimes — reportedly tracked down the kidnappers. On Tuesday, law enforcement engaged in a “high-intensity shoot-out” with alleged kidnappers at a safe house and rescued Sullivan.
The South African Police Service said in a statement, “As officers approached the house, they observed a vehicle on the premises. The suspects inside the vehicle, upon seeing law enforcement, allegedly attempted to flee and opened fire on the team.”
“The officers responded with tactical precision, leading to a high-intensity shoot-out in which three unidentified suspects were fatally wounded,” police stated.
Law enforcement officers rescued Sullivan from the vehicle, who reportedly was unharmed and in “excellent condition.”
The Fellowship Baptist Church in Tennessee stated, “Praise the Lord!” Tom Hatley, the church’s pastor, said that “Josh has been released. Thank you for your support and prayers. Please do not stop praying for the Sullivans.”
Church secretary Heather Shirley told the Christian Post that God “was the one protecting him and taking care of him. And that’s what we were praying for all along, that He would take care of him and bring him home.”
Shirley added, “We want to let Josh tell the whole story as he wants to or give us something to give to our people so that they understand exactly how he felt. I don’t think any of us can understand how he felt in that situation. I mean, there had to just be a hedge of protection around him, provided by God; that’s the only explanation for it.”
Sullivan — a self-described “church planting missionary” — arrived in South Africa in 2018 with plans to “finish language school … and plant a church to the Xhosa-speaking people.”
Missionary Mark Coffey said of Sullivan, “Josh’s love for the Xhosa people is evident in everything he does. He doesn’t just serve them — he walks with them, learns from them, and pours his life into building lasting relationships rooted in the love of Christ. He often says that learning the Xhosa language wasn’t just about communication — it was about connection.”
There were an average of 51 kidnappings every day in the country in 2023, according to the government.
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