{"id":18809,"date":"2025-04-11T17:32:40","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T17:32:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/u-s-pastor-abducted-at-gunpoint-while-delivering-sermon-in-south-africa-they-knew-him-by-name\/"},"modified":"2025-04-11T17:32:40","modified_gmt":"2025-04-11T17:32:40","slug":"u-s-pastor-abducted-at-gunpoint-while-delivering-sermon-in-south-africa-they-knew-him-by-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/u-s-pastor-abducted-at-gunpoint-while-delivering-sermon-in-south-africa-they-knew-him-by-name\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. pastor abducted at gunpoint while delivering sermon in South Africa: &#8220;They knew him by name&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>Gunmen in South Africa have abducted a U.S. missionary from his church as he was delivering a sermon, police and a colleague said Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Pastor Josh Sullivan was abducted late Thursday at the Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell outside the coastal city of Gqeberha in what appeared to be a kidnapping for ransom, a colleague told AFP.<\/p>\n<p>Kidnappings, including by criminal gangs that target people for whom large ransoms can be demanded, have been increasing in South Africa in recent years.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It is alleged that while a sermon was conducted at the church, four armed and masked male suspects entered the church,&#8221; police said in a statement. &#8220;They robbed two cell phones and then took the 45-year-old male pastor with them and fled the scene.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson from the U.S. State Department <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c5y6xq4ex1ro\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">told the BBC<\/a> that they were aware of the kidnapping of an American citizen in South Africa.<\/p>\n<p>Rev. Jeremy Hall, a pastor also based in the southeastern city, told AFP the abduction was probably &#8220;financially related.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Sullivan was holding a prayer meeting with about 30 people, including his wife and six children, when the armed kidnappers entered, Hall said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They knew him by name,&#8221; he said. They took him at gunpoint and forced him into his car and drove off. The abandoned car was recovered about a mile from the church.<\/p>\n<p>Sullivan arrived in South Africa with his family from Tennessee in November 2018, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/sullivansinsouthafrica.weebly.com\/about.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">his personal website<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are looking to finish language school soon and plant a church to the Xhosa speaking people,&#8221; he writes on his site.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Sullivan has been on the staff at Fellowship Baptist Church in Maryville, Tennessee, since February of 2012, according to the website.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Please pray for Josh Sullivan, missionary to South Africa,&#8221; the church wrote on its Facebook page.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-facebook-post embed--float-none embed--size-medium lazyload\" data-require=\"third-party\/facebook-sdk\">\n<div class=\"embed__content-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"fb-post\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/fellowshipbaptistchurch1822morgancountyhwy\/posts\/pfbid02Sd22T67AziAjH7WEDfNzVoY6n318EHPTmBsL32jeAehvnHU8PeSePBqcSBszxc2nl\" data-width=\"552\">\n<blockquote cite=\"https:\/\/graph.facebook.com\/100067052072881\/posts\/984520703792990\/\" class=\"fb-xfbml-parse-ignore\">\n<p>Please pray for Josh Sullivan, missionary to South Africa. He was kidnapped at gun point by six men during their church service this evening.<\/p>\n<p>Note: All comments other than prayers will be deleted.<\/p>\n<p>Posted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/fellowshipbaptistchurch1822morgancountyhwy\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Fellowship Baptist Church<\/a> on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/graph.facebook.com\/100067052072881\/posts\/984520703792990\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Thursday, April 10, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The police anti-gang unit said a Chinese national was also kidnapped Tuesday in the city, which is on the Indian Ocean and about 570 miles southeast of Johannesburg.<\/p>\n<p>There were more than 17,000 kidnappings in South Africa in the 2023-2024 financial year, an 11-percent increase over the previous year, according to police statistics.<\/p>\n<p>South Africa has also been plagued by escalating gun violence. Each day, 33 people are killed by guns in South Africa, according\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/gfsa.org.za\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Gun Free South Africa<\/a>, a nonprofit advocating for reduced gun violence.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- data-recirc-source=\"queryly\" --><\/p>\n<aside class=\"component list recirculation component--type-recirculation \">\n<p><h3 class=\"component__title\">More from CBS News<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>    <!-- tags --><\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div>\n<p><script async defer src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js#xfbml=1&#038;version=v3.2\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     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