A young American missionary has allegedly been taken hostage after being abducted at gunpoint during a church service last Thursday.
Josh Sullivan, 34, and his family were working at a church in Motherwell in South Africa when it's alleged six armed men entered the church and kidnapped the pastor.
"My heart is breaking, please continue to pray for my son, daughter-in-law, grandkids and our family," said Josh's mother, Tonya Rinker. "They found his van abandoned, but Joshua was kidnapped. I know he’s doing God’s work, and I also know he wouldn’t change that."
There are also reports that the kidnappers allegedly took several phones from people in the congregation before taking Josh.
There are still no leads on his whereabouts.
Family, friends and his congregation at Fellowship Baptist Church in Maryville, Tennessee, are now asking for prayers for his safe return.
The family's missionary bio says that Josh accepted God's call to preach in January 2010. He began Bible college at Fellowship Baptist Bible Institute in 2011 and graduated in early 2015.
In 2013, he accepted the call to go to the mission field in South Africa. Josh and his wife, Meagan, first came to South Africa in 2015 for a six-month internship as part of their Bible training.
"It was during this time that the Lord began to stir their hearts specifically for the Xhosa people," said missionary Mark Coffey. "They returned in 2018 as full-time church planting missionaries, determined to share the Gospel and see lives changed. Josh committed himself to two years of language school and became fluent in Xhosa so he could preach, disciple, and minister more effectively. That dedication led to the planting of Fellowship Baptist Church in the township of Motherwell—a community that has become home to their hearts."
Josh and his wife, Meagan, have four children. They have also taken in two Xhosa children.