The Fellowship Baptist Church in Tennessee announced that the “South African missionary” Sullivan was abducted from the church at gunpoint while preaching.

An American priest in the South Africa Republic was kidnapped by armed individuals while preaching. The incident is said to have occurred on April 10th, Thursday, in Gqeberha, Tennessee, as stated in a statement from the Fellowship Baptist Church’s social media account. It said, “Please pray for South African missionary Josh Sullivan. He was abducted at gunpoint by six men during the church service tonight.”

ABDUCTED FOR RANSOM? Another priest working in the city of Gqeberha in South Africa, like Sullivan, stated to the AFP news agency that Sullivan seemed to have been abducted for ransom. Meanwhile, the police reported to the CBC News site that armed and masked men entered the church during a sermon, stole two cell phones, and took the 45-year-old priest away during the incident.

A spokesperson from the US Department of State confirmed to CBS that they were aware of an American citizen being kidnapped in South Africa but had no further information to share at the moment. Andre Beetge, a police spokesperson in South Africa, stated that as of now, there has been no ransom demand for the abducted priest.

VEHICLE FOUND 1.5 KILOMETERS AWAY FROM THE CHURCH The priest Jeremy Hall, who serves in the same city as the abducted priest, described that during the incident, there were about 30 people in the church, including Sullivan’s wife and six children. Hall said, “They knew him by name,” noting that the American priest was kidnapped at gunpoint and placed in his vehicle. The vehicle was found approximately 1.5 kilometers away from the church.

It was mentioned that the priest and his family arrived in the South Africa Republic from Tennessee in November 2018. The priest had been a member of the Fellowship Baptist Church in Tennessee since February 2012.