US pastor kidnapped in South Africa: What we know

An American pastor and missionary was kidnapped during a church service in South Africa Thursday. 

Reports say armed men entered the church and stole two phones before taking Sullivan and fleeing in the pastor’s vehicle. 

Who is Josh Sullivan? 

The backstory:

Sullivan, 45, was a pastor in Maryville, Tennessee, before moving with his wife and children to South Africa in 2018, according to his website. 

Sullivan described himself on his website as a "church planting missionary to the country of South Africa."

"We are looking to finish language school soon and plant a church to the Xhosa speaking people," he wrote on the site. 

What happened to Josh Sullivan?

What we know:

According to BBC, Sullivan was conducting a service with about 30 other people at Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell on the Eastern Cape Thursday evening when  "four armed and masked male suspects entered," a police spokesman said. 

The family’s spokesperson Jeremy Hall told a local newspaper that Sullivan’s wife and children were also at the church when the kidnapping took place, but they were able to escape unharmed.

What we don't know:

It’s unclear why Sullivan was kidnapped – other news outlets say the kidnappers haven’t asked for ransom. 

What they're saying:

"They knew his name," Hall said, according to TimesLive. 

"The men came into the church and initially held Meagan and walked her towards the door before saying, ‘Josh, is this your wife?’ They then pushed her to the ground and took Josh before driving off in his vehicle."

"I know he’s doing God’s work, and I also know he wouldn’t change that," his mother, Tonya Morton Rinker, said on Facebook. 

Dig deeper:

Kidnappings are surging in South Africa, with more than 17,000 kidnappings reported last year. That’s up from 4,692 a decade ago. They’re primarily linked to armed robberies, according to the Institute for Security Studies.