By American Renaissance | Created at 2024-10-31 18:34:33 | Updated at 2024-11-06 22:38:31
6 days ago
A former lead pastor of a Minnesota church has been murdered after he moved his family to Africa to become a missionary.
Beau Shroyer, 44, was the lead pastor of Lakes Area Vineyard Church in Detroit Lakes before he moved to Angola with his wife, Jackie, and their five children in 2021 to become a missionary with the organization SIM USA.
The pastor previously described the African area as a ‘remote bush village’ with no electricity, sewer or water systems, the Detroit Lakes Tribune reports.
But Randy Fairman, the president of SIM USA, told congregants of the pastor’s church that he received a call on Friday ‘informing me that Beau Shroyer was killed while serving Jesus in Angola and is now with his Savior.’
Many details about Shroyer’s death remain unclear as church and mission officials work to get information from authorities in Angola.
Shroyer had previously worked as a police officer, joining the Detroit Lakes Police Department in 2013, before becoming a real estate agent, according to the Tribune.
He eventually became a pastor, and in 2021, he and his wife, Jackie, became missionaries – and became one of the first families to move to Angola after pandemic lockdowns eased, Fairman said.
‘It is my belief that from his vantage point, he can see how his family will be cared for, and it is not hard for him to trust our good Father,’ he wrote in his letter to congregants.
‘From our perspective and the perspective of Jackie and the kids, we must now 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,’ Fairman continued.
‘It is difficult and stretches our faith.’
Troy Easton, who succeeded Shroyer as lead pastor of Lakes Area Vineyard Church, also wrote in his own letter to congregants.
‘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.
‘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 added that he has been in contact with the Shroyer family, telling congregants: ‘Be assured that even in their shock and grief, they are strong in the Lord and His word and have wonderful support around them.’
‘As more details become available regarding what’s next for the family, what arrangements are being made to celebrate and honor Beau’s life and practical ways you can love and serve them, we will be certain to share them with you,’ Easton vowed.
In addition to his wife, Shroyer leaves behind children Bella, Avery, Oakley, Iva and Eden.
