Last month, a 45-year-old missionary from Tennessee, Josh Sullivan, was delivering a sermon in the heart of Motherwell Township, Eastern Cape, South Africa, when armed assailants stormed the church and abducted him at gunpoint. 

What followed was a tense five-day ordeal, ending in a violent police shootout that left three suspects dead and Sullivan miraculously unharmed. Now safely reunited with his family, Sullivan’s story is a chilling reminder of the risks faced by those who carry their faith across borders. 

Many aren’t so fortunate. 

On the evening of May 23, 2024, American missionaries Davy and Natalie Lloyd, ages 23 and 21, alongside Haitian mission director Jude Montis, were ambushed and murdered by a violent gang as they left church in Port-au-Prince. 

Mr. Lloyd spent much of his childhood in the Caribbean nation, was fluent in Creole, and was serving on behalf of his parents’ organization, Missions in Haiti, which sought to “see the Gospel of Christ make a difference in the lives of Haiti’s young people.” 

His bride, Ms. Lloyd, daughter of Missouri state Congressman, described his late child as filled with “selfless love.” Meanwhile, Mr. Montis, who left behind two toddlers, devoted two decades of his life to Missions in Haiti and his local community. 

The tragedy reflected the increasing gang warfare that grips Haiti, but also the bubbling danger of missionary work across the world. 

“Unfortunately, we have seen an increase in the level of danger missionaries face in recent years,” Senior Director of United States Operations for Mission to the World, Mark Bates, tells the New York Sun. 

“The COVID pandemic was one contributing factor. We’ve also had missionaries serving in the midst of war, economic uncertainty, and governmental instability. Missionaries also face persecution because of local or governmental opposition to a faith-based worldview.”

A total of 608 missionaries and pastoral workers were killed worldwide between 2000 and 2024. This averages out to approximately 24 deaths per year. Areas plagued by gangs, terrorism, and civil unrest, particularly in Haiti, Nigeria, and South Sudan, are now some of the deadliest locations for missionaries.

This begs the question: are the safety protocols enough?

Conflict photographer and filmmaker Neil Brandvold recalls being sent on a Mormon Mission to Honduras for two years — stepping into the lair of high crime and gang violence. 

“At 19, I got my mission letter: Comayagua, Honduras. I had no idea what that meant. It was basically the gang slums of Tegucigalpa — some of the worst neighborhoods,” he tells the Sun. 

“I didn’t speak Spanish then and flew down there completely unprepared. We did maybe a month or two of language training in Provo, Utah — basically memorizing Mormon lectures. But hostile environment training? Nothing. Zero recognition of how dangerous those neighborhoods were.” 

Mr. Brandvold said the goal was to “baptize as many people as possible — convert as many people to Mormonism as possible,” often by going door-to-door “in crazy gang neighborhoods.” 

“I can’t tell you how many times I was robbed — probably more than 100 times at gunpoint. We saw people get shot, get killed,” he remembered. “And you just keep going. It’s very much like, ‘If you’re doing the right thing, God will take care of you.’”

Mr. Bates, however, assured that their organization “has security measures in place,” although most of these cannot be publicly discussed for “the safety of workers.” 

“One thing we do to assess and mitigate risks to ensure the safety of missionaries is to keep up with State Department assessments. We also have relationships with organizations that can provide specific analysis and advice related to safety, evacuation, etc,” he continued. “We also talk with other agencies and associates residing in unstable locations.”

A representative for global-reaching Christian Missionary Pioneers USA, Matt Green, sees the security situation a little differently.

“I don’t believe mission work has become any more or less dangerous in the 2,000 years since Jesus gave the Great Commission to take the gospel to every nation,” he said. 

Mr. Green acknowledged that while “many countries welcome missionaries because they bring humanitarian benefits to society along with their religious activities, there have always been repressive governments and extremist religious groups that see the presence of Christian workers as a threat and do what they can to hinder their work.”

Beyond the dangers, it’s a calling that is steadily losing volunteers. ​In 2001, there were approximately 1.1 million full-time missionaries globally. By 2021, that number had decreased to around 430,000 — a reduction of over 60 percent. 

Braving Dangers

In the face of the growing perils, there are still hundreds of thousands of American missionaries who continue to serve. Many see their work as a calling, a divine mission to bring hope, healing, and education to those in need. 

For others, the humanitarian aspect of their mission is paramount. They believe that in regions plagued by poverty, disease, and violence, their presence can offer spiritual guidance and tangible aid.

“Missionaries are driven by a belief that risk has always been an inherent factor in proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ,” said Mr. Green. “While most missionaries do not actively put themselves in harm’s way, their love for the Lord and for those they are called to reach makes these risks worth taking.”

This isn’t without personal cost. Mental health issues are also emerging as a concern in the missionary community, especially as the dangers escalate. Many missionaries return home with trauma from witnessing violence, experiencing kidnapping, or losing colleagues in violent incidents. 

The psychological scars often remain long after they leave the field. Missionaries not only face the threat of physical violence but also endure emotional and psychological strain. 

“When I was in Honduras, there was a pair of missionaries whose house got broken into — they were tied up and robbed, all their stuff stolen. They were tied up for a couple of days. After that? They were just moved to a different neighborhood to keep working,” Mr. Brandvold said. “No psychological support, no ‘you’ve been through a lot.’ Just move on.”

The Criticism 

The work is, in addition, routinely coupled with criticism. Detractors argue that even well-intentioned interventions can unintentionally foster dependency or overlook these communities’ deeper, systemic challenges. The rise of short-term missions has come under fire as a type of “tourism” that focuses on quick projects rather than sustainable change, inadvertently adding to the complex issues local communities face.

Then, there is the long-running condemnation by those who contend it often mirrors the practices of colonialism. Critics contend that missionaries, in their efforts to spread religious beliefs, impose foreign values, cultures, and ideologies upon indigenous populations, disrupting their way of life and undermining local traditions.

Those in the field, however, insist such an approach is no longer the norm.

“If I went as a long-term missionary to assist in Archbishop Abraham’s archdiocese, I would be fitting into an existing mission structure,” explained the executive director of the non-governmental organization Sudan Sunrise, Tom Prichard, who formerly served as a missionary in Colombia for three years before becoming director of a mission organization for 15 years.

He stressed that his “effectiveness in that mission would depend largely on how well I could integrate into being a local Christian.”

“Overall, most denominations have made a clear shift toward indigenous leadership. It’s not being done under a colonial mindset anymore,” Mr. Prichard continued. “We had people in Latin America, Spain, and the Caribbean — doing everything from church planting to outreach for sex workers to medical missions in very poor areas.”

Missionary Future

Despite the numbers dip and persistent dangers, many who have been through the service insist it is here to stay – and that there are many silver linings to the work. 

“I know so many people where the structure that sent them as missionaries ends up forming lifelong relationships,” Mr. Prichard said. “Even when they return to the States, they’re still connected — being visited by and visiting people. Just the bonds of humanity that hold people together — it’s a beautiful thing to see.”

Mr. Brandvold pointed out that while “numbers around missionaries being assaulted, killed, or kidnapped” are often kept as quiet as possible by churches and organizations, he still views the notion of missionaries — of going into a community not just for weeks but for years as an essential and unparalleled experience. 

“I think there’s something good about taking a young person, sending them out of their community into a situation where they’re not tourists. When we did missionary work, it wasn’t a two-week thing. We lived in the neighborhoods for years,” he said. “That experience was super valuable. Learning to talk to people and go into uncomfortable situations was great.”

For others, it’s not just about personal growth or cultural exchange — it’s about a deeper spiritual mission. 

“What continues to drive us is that people need Jesus. That’s it, full stop,” Mr. Bates added. “The world is hurting, one way or another, in every single country.  The solution to that pain is Jesus Christ.”