Missionary From MN Church Killed In Africa: 'Act Of Violence'

DETRIOT LAKES, MN — A Christian missionary with ties to a church in Detroit Lakes was killed in "an act of violence" Friday in Angola, Africa, according to the church's lead pastor.

Beau Shroyer, 44, his wife Jackie, and five children moved there in 2021 through the missionary organization SIM USA.

The Shroyers were one of the first SIM USA families to move to Angola after COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns began to ease.

Details about Shroyer's death "are still unknown," wrote Lakes Area Vineyard Church Pastor Troy Easton in a letter to his congregation. "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."

"We are heartbroken for Jackie, their 5 children, and their families, but we also rejoice in the truth that Beau, now absent from the body is present with the Lord," Easton continued.

Before leaving for Africa, Shroyer was a Detroit Lakes police officer and real estate agent, the Star Tribune reported.

Founded in 1893 and based in Charlotte, North Carolina, SIM USA "has been a catalyst for cross-cultural mission work for 130 years" and "have maintained our identity as a diverse group of people joined together by the shared belief that no one should live and die without hearing the good news of the gospel," states its website.

Easton concluded his letter by asking church members to "please be in prayer that the God of all comfort would make His love, His nearness and His presence so obvious to Jackie, Bella, Avery, Oakley, Iva and Eden, and that they would cling to Him."