US Pastor and missionary Josh Sullivan, who was kidnapped by armed men from his church in South Africa in April and held hostage for six days, made a brief return to ministry in the country last month.
Sullivan, who was rescued by South African Police and miraculously unharmed after a shootout that resulted in three deaths, shared in a ministry update that he and his family returned to South Africa as part of a pre-planned mission retreat in Thailand.
“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.
He added, “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 interview with WBIR Channel 10 in May, Sullivan recounted how he was kidnapped by four armed men just as he was teaching about the fruits of the Spirit on April 10 at his Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell, near Gqeberha. He explained that his kidnappers demanded an undisclosed ransom and held him captive with a hood over his head until he was rescued on April 15 by South African Police.
Sullivan told WATE that, despite feeling a call to “jump back right in to ministry,” he and his wife decided to follow “really good counselling” to take things slowly, given the emotional trauma he experienced, to determine if a long-term return to ministry in South Africa is feasible.
“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.
He also shared that he is still in the process of recovering from trauma, noting 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.”
