The invitations of Tennessee pastors who work in South Africa have been supported by armed robbers as the rate of inducing inducements has increased across the country over the past decade.
Josh Sullivan, a 34-year-old Fellowship Baptist Church pastor and missionary at Motherwell, is said to have been kidnapped by several armed masked men who invaded a church in the Eastern Cape on the evening of April 10th, taking his phone from his cell phone and kicked him out with Sullivan in his truck.
“The South Africa Police Service (SAPS) annual crime statistics show that over the past decade, the temptation of an invitation has increased by 264% from 4,692 in 2014/15 to 17,061 in 2023/24.” Security Institute (ISS) Africa This was mentioned in the December 2024 report. “Latest Quarterly Crime Statistics released on November 25th [2024]indicates a continuous increase. ”
According to an ISS Africa report, most lure incidents over the 2023-2024 period took place during robbery such as hijacking or armed robbery of cars and trucks in businesses, homes or public spaces.
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Josh Sullivan, a 34-year-old pastor from Tennessee, is being invited in South Africa. (Fellowship Baptist Church/Facebook)
Eastern Cape Hawks spokesman warrant officer Ndiphiwe Mhlakhuvana told South African news outlet IOL that the suspect who lured Sullivan had demanded a ransom.
“In response to the incident, an interdisciplinary task team is formed.[ing] Various specialized police [sic] The unit has been activated. The joint team is now chasing all possible leads, finding victims and arresting the perpetrators. The ransom was demanded by the suspect,” Murahuvana told IOL.
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The South African Priority Crime Investigation Bureau, known as the Hawks, said that anyone with information would “all information will be treated with the strictest confidentiality,” Iol reported.
The ISS Africa report points out that less than 5% of South African donations are accompanied by ransom demands.
Republican Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn told Fox News Digital in a statement that she is tired of working with the family of Rev. Sullivan to rescue him from these vicious criminal gangs.”
Nine Nigerian students invited at the muzzle at the latest school acquiring in the area.
“I contacted the State Department and submitted an investigation with the South African embassy. They are working to support this family as much as possible,” Blackburn said.
R-Tenn. Senator Marsha Blackburn said he is in contact with the State Department about Joshua Sullivan’s invitation in South Africa. (Photo: Stefani Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)
“It seems like a missionary working in many different countries, whether in Africa or South American countries,” said Bobby McDonald, a lecturer in criminal justice at New Haven University in Connecticut.
“South Africa, for many years, and I was there once – you can be in a very wealthy neighborhood in South Africa, and in that moment, in an underdeveloped or underprivileged area. “There are many different areas… just off the beaten path, you can find yourself in a situation that can cause some degree of harm to you and your family.”
Tom Hatley, pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church, told Fox News’ Madison Scarpino that Sullivan on Thursday “someone came in and others followed him, asked him what his name and took him to the muzzle in a long story.”
“It was something we all knew that could happen there, but we always prayed that it wouldn’t,” Hatley said.
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He said the Baptist leaders of the Fellowship “hoping Josh would be returned Thursday night, and when he wasn’t, we wanted him to come back that Friday morning. But things aren’t going that way.”
Joshua Sullivan, a Tennessee pastor who works as a missionary in South Africa, was invited on April 10th. (Facebook)
Sullivan remains “cool and calm” and “handling” the situation, Hatley said.
in Live discussion posting by Sullivan’s Home Church In Tennessee, at Fellowship Baptist Church four months ago, he told the story of Sullivan and his wife being stolen in South Africa. They spent a total of six years in the country and planted a new church in Motherwell in 2021.
“Brobbery is a very common event. It’s very common,” Sullivan said in the video.
His wife then recounted the days when she was taken away from her new iPhone.
“Crime doesn’t come from gangs. There are gangs, but that’s not where crime comes from,” she told the church, adding that many locals “can’t put food on the table.”
Josh Sullivan is passionate about sports and was once a champion high school football player. (Facebook)
“They are just looking for money to live,” she said.
McDonald pointed out that in other areas “a little bit of money in a particular area can be a lot of money.”
“Maybe this is something that’s going on very heavily in the area and there may be other lures going down the path from these gangs… It’ll be interesting to see how South African authorities want to deal with this,” he said. “When someone is invited, that’s not a good thing. It’s even worse that missionaries from other countries are invited.”
Sullivan’s mother, Tonya Morton Linker, described Sullivan’s “humor and wit” as “blessings.”
“[H]E is always ready for jokes and is always looking to make people laugh,” she said in a statement. He has a servant’s heart, a kind and caring spirit, and is filled with selflessness. He has put a burden on his lost soul and has devoted his life to serving God in South Africa. I pray for his safe return, full of faith and assurance. ”
Missionary Mark Coffey described Sullivan as “a kind, heartfelt, kind giant” in a Facebook post.
Josh Sullivan’s family is urging an answer after the invitation on April 10th. (Facebook)
“Josh, originally from Maryville, Tennessee, is 34 years old and is a member of Maryville Fellowship Baptist Church, with Rev. Tom Hatley being the pastor,” Coffey said. “Growing up, Josh developed a deep love for the sport and was a standout football player at Maryville High School, where he was part of the championship teams of three states. That same passion and discipline now burned his heart for mission and ministry.
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Coffey continued: “At this point, the Lord began to stir hearts specifically for the people of Xhosa. They returned in 2018 as missionaries planting full-time churches. They decided to share the gospel and see life changed. The community that became their home of hearts.”
Sullivan also brings two Xhosa children together to raise them with his own children.
