American missionary Josh Sullivan has credited his faith in God for his dramatic rescue from a life-threatening ordeal in South Africa. Sullivan, who has been living in the country as a church planter since 2018, was abducted at gunpoint while delivering a sermon to a local congregation on April 10.

The abduction sent shockwaves through the community and mobilised a massive rescue operation involving the South African Police Department and the FBI.

For six harrowing days, Josh Sullivan was held captive by armed kidnappers. His family and supporters, both in South Africa and back home in the United States, rallied in prayer vigils, holding hope for his safe return. Meanwhile, authorities launched an intensive investigation to locate Sullivan and rescue him unharmed.

The breakthrough came on April 16, when law enforcement tracked down the kidnappers’ location and engaged in a high-stakes shootout to free Sullivan. The operation was fraught with danger and resulted in the deaths of three suspects. Miraculously, Sullivan emerged unharmed, a fact he attributes to divine intervention. “God’s hand of protection was over me every step of the way,” Sullivan said in his first public statement.

In his emotional statement, Sullivan expressed profound gratitude to God for his deliverance, as well as to the thousands of people who prayed for his safety. He also praised the law enforcement agencies for their unwavering efforts to bring him home. “I am forever indebted to the men and women who put their lives on the line to rescue me,” he said. Josh Sullivan reserved special thanks for his wife, Meagan, whose strength and faith provided him with hope even in the darkest moments of his captivity.

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