An American missionary to South Africa shared an inspiring story of faith and survival in a recent interview, sharing that he was kidnapped while preaching and miraculously survived when police officers found him held captive in a safe house and initiated an intense firefight that left three dead.
For context, Pastor Josh Sullivan of East Tennessee, who was serving as a missionary in South Africa, was reportedly kidnapped during a sermon on the fruit of the Spirit and held for ransom for six days until he was finally rescued on April 15. Nearly a month later, he opened up about his traumatic experience in an interview with WBIR Channel 10 on May 8, 2025.
Recounting his experience in the interview, Sullivan explained that after several days of waiting in a safe house, he was taken to a car, where he suddenly heard “a lot of fire, maybe 20 gunshots.” He continued, “So I just keep my head down. I’m laying there in the back of the car just praying. … And then, five to seven minutes of this battle goes on and then the shots die down. And I hear footsteps coming and I’m just hoping ‘let this be a good guy.'”
Moments later, Sullivan was rescued by a police officer, who asked him, “Are you the American pastor?” Sullivan recalled, “I said ‘yes,’ and he has a shocked look on his face and he calls the other police. There’s four police officers that showed up and he calls them all and said, ‘it’s the American pastor.'”
After being rescued by the police officer, Sullivan recounted, “I was in complete shock,” adding, “So seeing those officers, I just began crying. I got on my knees and my hands and knees and praised God, first of all, just thank[ing] the Lord and hacking and spitting and crying everywhere. I could not believe it ended that way.”
Furthermore, Sullivan gave all the credit for his rescue to God in the interview, explaining, “That police officer that was the first one to find me comes in and we begin to talk.” He added, “I thank him, of course, and he said, ‘I know that you’re a praying man, and I know that there are people praying for you because we were lost when we found you.'”
Adding to the miraculous nature of Sullivan’s rescue, he explained that the police officer told him that he “took a wrong turn, and they pulled into a driveway to turn around. And that’s when three men jump out of a car and start firing at them. And they take care of those men.” He told the interviewer, “It was an absolute miracle, and it was a sovereign hand of God that was there with me that day.”
A statement from the South African Police Service backed up Pastor Sullivan’s story and explained that officers “observed a vehicle on the premises” when they arrived at the scene of the shootout, saying, “The suspects inside the vehicle, upon seeing law enforcement, allegedly attempted to flee and opened fire on the team. The officers responded with tactical precision, leading to a high-intensity shootout in which three unidentified suspects were fatally wounded.”
Watch Pastor Sullivan’s interview with WBIR Channel 10:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video