Tennessee missionary Josh Sullivan, who was kidnapped by armed men from his church in South Africa in April and held hostage for six days, briefly returned to ministry in that country last month in a test of what could be a permanent return to work.
Sullivan, 34, who was rescued by South African Police and “miraculously unharmed” following a “high-intensity shootout” that left three people dead, revealed in a ministry update that he and his family returned to South Africa as part of a pre-planned mission retreat in Thailand that they did not want to “go to waste.”
“Our family has spent the last two months traveling. Before the kidnapping in April, we had planned a family trip to Thailand to attend a mission’s retreat. We decided not to let that trip go to waste. So at the beginning of July, we headed back to South Africa for a couple of weeks, and then on to Thailand, “he revealed.
“Our trip to South Africa was very healing. We spent time encouraging our people and being encouraged by their faithfulness. While we were there, our church was able to host its first funeral. This is obviously not a happy circumstance, but we rejoiced in the opportunity to share the Gospel with this lost family,” Sullivan added.
In an earlier interview in May, the recovering missionary recalled how he was kidnapped by four armed men just as he began teaching about the fruits of the Spirit on April 10 at his Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell, near Gqeberha. His kidnappers demanded an undisclosed ransom for his release and held him captive with a hood over his head until he was rescued on April 15 by the South African Police.
A statement from the South African Police Service said the shootout on April 15 happened at a hideout in KwaMagxaki, Gqeberha.
“As officers approached the house, they observed a vehicle on the premises. The suspects inside the vehicle, upon seeing law enforcement, allegedly attempted to flee and opened fire on the team. The officers responded with tactical precision, leading to a high-intensity shootout in which three unidentified suspects were fatally wounded,” the statement said.
Sullivan told WATE that even though he has been feeling a call to “jump back right in to ministry,” he and his wife decided to follow “really good counselling” to take things slow due to the emotional impact of what he experienced to determine if a long-term return to ministry in South Africa will work out.
“We’re praying about that. As far as it is for me and my family, all systems are go. We have felt great on this six-week trip. When we feel ready, probably toward the end of December, we will come back to South Africa,” he said.
The missionary explained that he is still recovering from trauma and noted that: “Every time you hear a loud noise, you kind of have an instant reaction to that. I think that’s just natural for anyone with any kind of trauma they’ve experienced.”
To alleviate some of those concerns, they have invested in improving the security of the church in South Africa.
“We do have gates and things on our door, but we’ve always left them open during church time to kind of have an open policy so people can come in or come in late,” he said. “That’s changed. We lock the gates during service time now.”
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