An American pastor and missionary was kidnapped during a church service in South Africa on Thursday.
According to reports, armed men entered the church and stole two phones before taking Sullivan and fleeing in the pastor’s vehicle.
Who is Josh Sullivan?
The backstory: Sullivan, 45, worked as a pastor in Maryville, Tennessee, before moving to South Africa with his wife and children in 2018, according to his website.
On his website, Sullivan identified himself as a “church planting missionary to the country of South Africa.”
“We are looking to finish language school soon and plant a church to the Xhosa speaking people,” he wrote in a blog post.
What happened to Josh Sullivan?
What we know: According to the BBC, Sullivan was leading a service at Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell, Eastern Cape, when “four armed and masked male suspects entered,” a police spokesman stated.
The family’s spokesperson, Jeremy Hall, told a local newspaper that Sullivan’s wife and children were also present at the church when the kidnapping occurred, but they were unharmed.
What we don’t know: The reason for Sullivan’s kidnapping remains unknown, and the kidnappers have not requested a ransom, according to other news outlets.
What they’re saying: “They knew his name,” Hall stated, according to TimesLive.
“The men entered the church, initially holding Meagan and walking her to the door before saying, ‘Josh, is this your wife?’ They then pushed her to the ground and grabbed Josh before driving away in his car.”
“I know he’s doing God’s work, and I also know he wouldn’t change that,” wrote his mother, Tonya Morton Rinker, on Facebook.
Dig deeper: South Africa is experiencing a surge in kidnappings, with over 17,000 reported last year. This is up from 4,692 a decade ago. They are primarily associated with armed robberies, according to the Institute for Security Studies.