Source: www.worthynews.com
Date: April 17, 2025
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
GQEBERHA, SOUTH AFRICA (Worthy News) – An American pastor who was abducted last Thursday during his sermon at a church in South Africa‘s port city of Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape province, has been rescued in a shootout, that left three suspects dead, Christians told Worthy News.
Josh Sullivan, also described as “a U.S. church planting missionary,” was rescued Tuesday by the “Hawks” — the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation — during a fatal shootout in Gqeberha, police confirmed.
“A multi-disciplinary law enforcement operation led by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, known as the Hawks, has resulted in the successful rescue of the 45-year-old American citizen, reportedly a local pastor who had allegedly been kidnapped and held at a safe house in KwaMagxaki, Gqeberha, on 15 April 2025,” the South African Police Service said in a statement obtained by Worthy News.
The shootout reportedly began when suspects in a car parked outside the house tried to escape and began firing at them. Three unidentified suspects were killed, police added.
Lieutenant Colonel Avele Fumba described the pastor’s rescue as a miracle. “The victim was found inside the same vehicle from which the suspects had launched their attack. Miraculously unharmed, he was immediately assessed by medical personnel and is currently in an excellent condition.”
Worthy News learned that following his release, Sullivan, who describes himself on his personal website as “a church-planting missionary,” was reunited with his wife Meagan and their two children.
“Josh has been released. I just got the go-ahead to let it be known,” said Sardar Mushtaq Gill, the founder of LEAD Ministries Pakistan, an advocacy group that closely followed the case.
FEELING CLOSENESS
LEAD said that it feels close to the Sullivan family as Christians are also facing kidnappings and other kinds of persecution in Pakistan.
“Please do not stop praying for the Sullivans. Praise The Lord Jesus Christ [for his rescue],” Gill told Worthy News.
Josh Sullivan, a 45-year-old American citizen from Tennessee, has been living in the Motherwell township branch of the Fellowship Baptist church with his wife and two children since 2018.
The missionary was abruptly abducted on Thursday evening when four men broke into the Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell, a fast-growing township comprising Gqeberha and other towns.
They reportedly stole two cell phones from members of the congregation before seizing Sullivan from the pulpit and bundling him out of the building. His truck was found abandoned a few hours later, the family said.
In comments monitored by Worthy News, the family’s spokesperson, Jeremy Hall, explained that his wife and their children were at the church when the kidnapping happened but escaped unharmed.
“They [the attackers] knew his name,” Hall said in published remarks.
ENTERING CHURCH
“The men entered the church and initially held Meagan and walked her towards the door before saying, ‘Josh, is this your wife?’ They then pushed her to the ground and took Josh before driving off in his vehicle.”
He added, “The car was found a few kilometers [miles] away shortly afterward.”
Sullivan’s kidnappers then made a ransom demand, prompting the intervention of South Africa’s elite police unit, known as the Hawks, sources said.
“Thank you for your support and prayers. Please do not stop praying for The Sullivans,” his post read. “Also, PLEASE respect The Sullivans privacy and their parents. A lot of folks love The Sullivans, and they love you back, but give them some time.”
Although he was rescued, his abduction underscored broader concerns about the rapidly deteriorating security situation in South Africa.
The number of kidnappings over the last decade has risen by 264 percent, police data showed.