Beau Shroyer, a pastor and first-time missionary from Minnesota, was recently killed in Lubango, Angola after his family had been raising concerns about his security in the foreign country for months. It was announced that 44-year-old Shroyer was “killed while serving Jesus.”
Randy Fairman, the president of SIM USA, the organizations Shroyer was working for, announced, “On Friday, October 25, I received a phone call informing me that Beau Shroyer was killed while serving Jesus in Angola and is now with his Savior.” SIM USA focuses on spreading the good news of the Gospel to areas around the world that are particularly challenging to share the message of Christ in.
Pastor Troy Easton also issued a statement, which read, “At this point, there are many details about what’s happened that are still unknown, however we have been in contact with his wife Jackie, and are doing what we can to come alongside them in this shocking and awful time. Be assured that even in their shock and grief, they are strong, in the Lord and His word and have wonderful support around them.”
Easton acknowledged that we won’t always have the answers to life’s most painful moments that we must endure on this side of heaven. “Moments like these create so many unanswerable questions for us and it adds to the pain to know that we may never understand why our Father has allowed something like this to happen,” he said.
However, he pointed that in times of hardship we must continue to set our sights on the Lord and remember all are redeemed through Christ. “And yet, amidst the shock and grief, we must not forget the truths found in the scriptures that point to His wise, merciful, gracious, faithful, trustworthy, and always loving character as well as the truth that Beau was a man who, because of his love for the Lord, gave His life to pointing the lost, the hurting, the desperate and the broken to the God who rescued, saved and transformed his life,” he said.
“Beau and Jackie Shroyer, together with their five children, were some of the first missionaries to begin service with SIM USA after the COVID lockdowns eased. They have brought a faithful, energetic, growing, loving aroma of Christ into our family,” Fairman added. “From our perspective and the perspective of Jackie and the kids, we now must trust Jesus in a season that we never imagined. We must trust Him without requiring Him to give us an understanding of why He allowed this. It is difficult and stretches our faith. I have not yet spoken to Jackie, and many details are still unknown.”
Fairman noted that he was actively traveling to Angola following the heartbreaking death of their missionary. “I write this note en route to Angola, praying that God will give me the opportunity to provide any measure of comfort or help. I will seek to provide you with more information and ways to participate when I know what you can do,” he said.
Watch a testimony from the Shroyer’s below:
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.