GOOD FRIDAY BONUS NEWS: American Pastor Rescued From Kidnappers Following Deadly Shootout

Tinnakorn Jorruang from Getty Images

South Africa’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (HAWKS) announced Tuesday (April 15) that they’d successfully led an operation to rescue a kidnapped American pastor in Eastern Cape Province.

The HAWKS press release did not name the pastor, according to Fox News. Fellowship Baptist Church Motherwell pastor Josh Sullivan, 34, of Tennessee, was kidnapped a week prior by a group of armed and masked men, and reports from other law enforcement and U.S.-based pastors suggest Sullivan is the rescued victim. The kidnapping was apparently for a ransom, but there are no reports (at the time of writing) about the requested price, CBN reported.

Sullivan is said to have been holding a prayer meeting with around 30 people, including his wife and children, when the four men entered the building. “They robbed two cell phones and then took the 45-year-old male pastor with them and fled the scene,” police noted in a statement shared by CBN. (MORE NEWS: EXCLUSIVE: ‘Religious And Moral Beliefs’ Of Founding Fathers To Be Taught In State Schools)

Just a few months before his kidnapping, Sullivan was robbed of his wallet by a young man in his neighborhood, and was almost killed over the crime, the Christian Post added. In recounting the event, Sullivan forgave the man and used the experience as an opportunity to share the Gospel.

An untold number of people prayed for Sullivan’s safe rescue, and their prayers were answered.

‘Miraculously Unharmed’

Tips sent to police led them to a safe house in KwaMagzaki, Gqeberha, Fox News reported. When law enforcement surrounded the home, individuals inside are said to have started firing as they attempted to flee. At least three suspects were killed in the altercation.

The pastor was found inside the same car used by the kidnapping suspects, Fox continued. He was described as “miraculously unharmed” and is “currently in excellent condition.”

Fellowship Baptist Church pastor Tom Hatley, of Maryville, Tennessee, confirmed Sullivan was rescued via a social media post. “Josh has been released. I just got ‘the go ahead to let it be known’. SA media has started broadcasting. American media will follow. Thank you for your support and prayers. Please do not stop praying for The Sullivans. Praise The Lord Jesus Christ!” he wrote. (MORE NEWS: Hundreds Of Young People Accept Jesus Christ At US University)

Sullivan moved to South Africa in 2018 with his wife and two children after training to become missionaries in the country in 2015. “It was during this time that the Lord began to stir their hearts specifically for the Xhosa people,” one of their fellow missionaries wrote of the couple. “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.”

Good News on Good Friday

Good Friday is the most somber day on the Christian calendar. It is the day we remember the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior on the cross. His obedience, passion, and death communicated His extraordinary love for us. No words can fully express how grateful we are that He paid for each one of us with Himself.

Father God, thank You for sending Your Son to this earth to bear the weight of our sins and shame. Through Your sacrifice, You made a way for a broken world to have hope and eternal life. We are humbled by Your suffering, Lord Jesus, and by the indescribable love You have for each one of us. Help us to be obedient to You, just as You were obedient to Your Father. Be with those who haven’t accepted Your gift of salvation and help them develop a personal relationship with You. In the Mighty name of Jesus, we pray, Amen.

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Jesus died for everyday people. While He was on the cross, we were on His mind.

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