A Kidnapped Missionary
When Pastor Josh Sullivan was knocked in the head and kidnapped right from the pulpit in his church, he had no idea of what lay ahead for him.
Josh and his family came to serve the Xhosa people in South Africa. They learned the language and sought to share the good news of the gospel.
The township of Motherwell where the Sullivans ministered was a high risk area. The people there were well acquainted with theft and unsafe conditions.
The Sullivans knowingly came anyway. They loved the people there.
On April 10, 2025, Josh had just started to speak when four men entered the hall. At first it was not clear why they had come, but it did not take long before their purpose became evident. The men had guns and proceeded to confront Josh. They asked him if this was his wife after grabbing Meagan. They then hit Josh over the head and he fell down almost blacking out. Meagan was also pushed to the floor. Their children and the rest of the church were left alone, just staring eerily.
Josh was forced up, down the aisle amid the whimpers of his children, and out of the building into his own car and they drove away.
The Wait
For 122 hours everyone waited. Josh also waited in a distant house as his captors let the authorities know their demands for money. The news hit social media and then the mainstream media, and people all over the world prayed earnestly for God to protect and free Josh. They prayed for safety for Meagan and the kids. They prayed for God to be glorified through this very difficult, challenging situation.
The authorities were working behind the scenes. The kidnappers were trying to negotiate a ransom for Josh’ life. Some were starting to gather funds.
This is a very tricky problem in mission work. Most mission organizations don’t pay ransoms. It opens up a whole can of worms. If money can be acquired through this means, every missionary in the country becomes a target, and there’s almost no end to the nightmares that could flow from that. We, as fellow missionaries, were praying for great wisdom for the negotiation team, hoping that law enforcement would find Josh before money was paid.
Josh’s feet and hands were tied, and he was hooded. He was kept in the back room of the house. They threatened him, but did not harm him. They offered water and food, and allowed Josh to use the bathroom.
The Miracle
On Tuesday, April 15th, the kidnappers told Josh that he needed to get to the car.
Josh had noticed they were cleaning a lot that day, washing and wiping things down. As they moved toward the garage in the darkness, Josh fell two times. One time it took a while for him to get back up. Three of the men got in the car, two in the front and one in the back with Josh. Josh had a hood over his head and had his head down in the lap of the guy in the back seat.
Josh realized that there were two other guys outside. One opened the garage door. The car pulled out into driveway. Then the car stopped as someone opened the gate at the front wall. At that point, Josh heard the three guys jump out of the vehicle and 20-some shots were fired for about 2-3 minutes. Then everything was quiet.
Josh heard footsteps approaching the car and he prayed to God that it would be a “good guy.” The door opened and the policeman was shocked to see Josh there. He paused, a bit confused, and then said, “Are you the American pastor?” Josh responded that indeed he was. Josh got out of the car, fell to his knees and prayed and cried thanksgiving to God.
The miracle is that the four policemen who pulled into that exact driveway were actually lost and trying to turn around. They were following a tip on a vehicle, but had made a wrong turn. When they pulled into the driveway, they were shocked to see three men get out of their vehicle and begin shooting. The other two guys that were in the garage and opened the gate got away, but the three kidnappers were killed.
The next day when Josh was being debriefed by the South African police and the FBI, that same initial policeman came up to Josh. He wanted to tell Josh that he knew he was a praying man and that it was a work of God that they happened to be there exactly at that time. So, Josh tripping two times on his way to the car, was all part of the perfect timing of our incredible God. This was a fine-tuned rescue by the Sovereign God.
Thinkful
As the world watches this news story and the TV interviews that followed with great interest, both Josh and his wife Meagan want to be very careful to give thanks to God. This was not the FBI or the CIA. This was not even “just a coincidence” as humans might try to call it. This was an answer to the prayers of thousands of people.
God rescued Josh!
We thank Him that it was His will for Josh to be released. We know that God is good all the time, and would be good even if there had been a different ending to this story. But this time God chose to free His servant and let him rejoin his wife and children. We thank Him. We praise Him. We rejoice in the gospel message going out all over the world through this event.
“Bring me out of prison,
that I may give thanks to your name!
The righteous will surround me,
for you will deal bountifully with me.”Psalm 142:7
Let us continue to pray for Josh and his family. Processing trauma takes time.
- Pray specifically that they will hold their thoughts captive to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5)
- Pray for them to think on truth and not on “what if’s” (Philippians 4:8)
- Pray for God to receive much glory from this miracle (Psalm 145:3)
th(i)nkful 
Praise God! …and pray always!
Thanks for sharing this evidence of God’s presence and power in a very angry world and for sharing your gift of writing through Th(i)nkful.
Linda R.
LikeLiked by 1 person
May God receive much glory!!
LikeLike