A Minnesota pastor who moved his family to Africa to spread Christianity was killed in an “act of violence” there on Friday, according to a notice from Lakes Area Vineyard Church in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.

Beau Shroyer, 44, a former pastor with Lakes Area Vineyard Church, moved his wife and five children to Angola in 2021 as COVID-19 lockdowns eased to become missionaries with SIM USA, a North Carolina based organization tasked with telling others about the “good news of the gospel.”

But Lakes Area Vineyard Church Lead Pastor Troy Easton wrote in a notice Saturday that Shroyer had been killed “while serving Jesus” the day before. The exact circumstances surrounding his death are unclear.

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“At this point, there are many details about what’s happened that are still unknown, 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,” Easton wrote. “Be assured that even in their shock and grief, they are strong in the Lord and his word and have wonderful support around them.”

“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.”

Shroyer previously described the area that the family moved to as a “remote bush village” with no electricity, sewer or water systems, per the Detroit Lakes Tribune. Shroyer worked for the Detroit Lakes Police Department in 2013 before becoming a real estate agent in the area, according to the outlet.

In a Facebook post on Thursday, Shroyer wrote that the Nyneka people they were serving “are among the most marginalized people groups in Angola,” after he came across a young person called “Mauricio” who was walking to school nearly two hours before class started. 

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“They lack access to education. One of our ministry center[‘s] goals is to provide vocational training to young men like Mauricio [to] get training that will help them to get a job,” Shroyer wrote. “Mauricio is in 10th grade and probably 19 or 20 years old. He’s one of the few from this area who attend school past elementary level.”

Days earlier, Shroyer posted photos and videos of people spreading manure by hand over on an agricultural plot before he wrote he was going to repair the roof of their shelter. He also posted a picture of himself smiling getting a haircut from a local barber for 32 cents. 

“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,” Easton’s statement continued.

“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.”

Meanwhile, SIM USA president Randy Fairman said he is traveling to Angola to be with Shroyer’s family. 

“They have brought a faithful, energetic, growing, loving aroma of Christ into our family,” Fairman wrote in a message shared by Lakes Area Vineyard Church.

“From our perspective and the perspective of Jackie and the kids, we now must 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. It is difficult and stretches our faith.”