A pastor from the United States was allegedly kidnapped by several armed men during a service at his church in South Africa.
According to multiple reports and a Facebook post from the Tennessee-based Fellowship Baptist Church, missionary Josh Sullivan was abducted on the evening of Thursday, April 10, at the Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell, just outside the city of Gqeberha.
“Please pray for Josh Sullivan, a missionary to South Africa,” the church said in a statement. “He was kidnapped at gunpoint by six men during their church service this evening.”
The AFP (via CBS News) and the BBC later reported, citing local South African police, that “four armed and masked male suspects entered” the church during a sermon.
According to police spokesman Captain Andre Beetge, the men allegedly stole two phones before fleeing the scene in Sullivan’s silver Toyota Fortuner, which police later discovered abandoned with no trace of the pastor inside.
“We’re asking everyone to pray for Josh. “I came out here to ask for prayer,” Sullivan’s father-in-law, David Witt, told local station WVLT. “We’re in a really tense situation right now.”
“This is terrifying. They never set out to harm anyone or do anything. “I can’t believe this happened,” said Christina McMillin, who works with the pastor’s wife. “I hope they find him soon and he’s okay.”
Rev. Jeremy Hall, a pastor in the same city, told AFP (via CBS News) that the alleged kidnapping was probably “financially related.” He claimed it occurred during a prayer meeting of about 30 people, including Sullivan’s wife and six children.
“They knew him by name,” Hall said of the men suspected of kidnapping the religious leader.
A US Department of State spokesperson tells PEOPLE that the organization is aware that a US citizen has been kidnapped in South Africa.
According to the spokesperson, there is no “greater priority than the safety and security of US citizens abroad.” Beetge told the BBC and AFP that if a ransom is demanded, the case will be turned over to the specialized Hawks police unit, which investigates organized and commercial crime. According to AFP, he stated that “there has been no ransom raised.”
“The police are currently following all possible leads to locate the victim and apprehend the perpetrators,” Hawks spokesman Lt. Col. Avele Fumba said, according to the BBC.
Sullivan has been on staff at Fellowship Baptist Church since February 2012, where he received training from pastor Tom Hatley. The following year, he “accepted the call to go the mission field in South Africa,” according to a church social media post. He arrived in November 2018.
On Facebook, Hatley requested that friends “pray for his safe return.”
According to South African police statistics, kidnappings have increased by 264% over the last decade.
A Chinese national had also been kidnapped in the area a few days before, according to the police anti-gang unit.