US Pastor Kidnapped at Gunpoint During Church Sermon in South Africa

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.

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.

Kidnappings, including by criminal gangs that target people for whom large ransoms can be demanded, have been increasing in South Africa in recent years.

"It is alleged that while a sermon was conducted at the church, four armed and masked male suspects entered the church," police told CBS News. "They robbed two cell phones and then took the 45-year-old male pastor with them and fled the scene."

A spokesperson from the U.S. State Department told CBS News that they were aware of the kidnapping of an American citizen in South Africa. The agency said it has no further information to share at this time.

Rev. Jeremy Hall, a pastor also based in the southeastern city, told AFP the abduction was probably "financially related."

Police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge said protocol dictated that once a ransom was demanded, the case would be handed over to the Hawks - a specialized police unit that investigates organized crime, economic crime, corruption, and other serious crimes.

"As I understand, there has been no ransom raised," said Beetge, urging anyone with information to come forward.

Sullivan was holding a prayer meeting with about 30 people, including his wife and six children, when the armed kidnappers entered, Hall said.

"They knew him by name," 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.

Sullivan arrived in South Africa with his family from Tennessee in November 2018, according to his personal website.

"We are looking to finish language school soon and plant a church to the Xhosa speaking people," he writes on his site.

Sullivan has been on the staff at Fellowship Baptist Church in Maryville, Tennessee, since February of 2012, according to the website.

"Please pray for Josh Sullivan, missionary to South Africa," the church wrote on its Facebook page.

Sullivan's wife Megan released a statement through a family spokesperson on Saturday.

"I just want to say thank you for the outpouring of love and prayers," she said. "We beg you to continue storming the throne room until Josh is safe at home."

As they await Sullivan's safe return, supporters flocked to the pastor's personal blog site and other social media platforms to offer their well-wishes.

"We are now praying that you delivered from these evil men," a poster named Richard Stockton said on the church website. "Praying the Holy Spirit well work on their hearts and be saved. And release you!!!"

Another supporter called Kody Moore said Josh was a "faithful brother doing much to make Christ known in Africa."

"Please pray for Josh to be brought home safely and especially his family during this absolutely terrible time. May Christ be magnified," he tweeted on X.

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.

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.

South Africa has also been plagued by escalating gun violence. Each day, 33 people are killed by guns in South Africa, according Gun Free South Africa, a nonprofit advocating for reduced gun violence.