Josh Sullivan
(Facebook photo)
JOHANNESBURG (BP) – Josh Sullivan, the pastor who was abducted by armed and masked men last week as he preached, was rescued yesterday (April 15) by police after a shootout with his captors in a nearby township.
Officers in a “multi-disciplinary law enforcement operation,” said a police statement, received information that Sullivan was being held in a safe house. On approaching the house the team observed a vehicle, whose occupants attempted to flee and opened fire after seeing the officers.
“The officers responded with tactical precision, leading to a high-intensity shootout in which three unidentified suspects were fatally wounded,” the statement read.
Three of the suspects were killed. Sullivan was found inside the vehicle “miraculously unharmed,” police said. He was immediately assessed by medics and listed as being in “excellent condition.”
On a website chronicling his family’s time in Africa, Sullivan said he was on staff at Fellowship Baptist Church, an Independent Baptist Church in Maryville, Tenn., and being trained by the pastor, Tom Hatley. Sullivan and his family have been serving in South Africa since November 2018.
On Facebook today, Hatley shared a picture of Sullivan’s ordination at the church after another post sharing the news of the rescue.
“Thank you for your support and prayers,” he wrote. “Please do not stop praying for The Sullivans. Praise The Lord Jesus Christ!”
In his bio, Sullivan shared how he was saved at Vacation Bible School one month before his 6th birthday. After graduating high school, he “lived a life for [himself]” but later that year “God got my attention in several different ways.” He accepted a call to preach on New Year’s Day 2010.
He graduated from a Bible institute and has served on staff at Fellowship since February 2012. He accepted a call to the mission field in 2013 as a church planter.
Sullivan was kidnapped on April 11 while preaching at Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell Township in Eastern Cape province. Four men broke into the church, stole two cellphones from members and took the pastor in his own truck.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published by Baptist Press.
