Former MN pastor killed during ‘act of violence’ in Africa

ANGOLA (FOX 9) – Former pastor of Lakes Area Vineyard Church in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota killed during missionary work in South Africa.

What we know

In an update, the church’s lead pastor, Troy Easton, announced that “our dear brother and friend Beau Shroyer died in an act of violence while ministering to Jesus in Angola, Africa” ​​on Friday, October 25.

The details of his death remain unclear. However, the church says it will try to comfort Shroyer’s wife and five children in their time of mourning.

Shroyer, 44, was a former pastor at Lakes Area Vineyard Church and moved with his family to Angola in 2021 after becoming a missionary with SIM USA, an evangelistic organization based in North Carolina.

A philanthropic heart

According to Detroit Lakes TribuneShroyer worked for the Detroit Lakes Police Department in 2013 before becoming a real estate agent and then taking up missionary work.

In a social media post the day before his death Shroyer wrote on Facebook about meeting a young student on his way to school and saying “one of the reasons why the people of Nyneka we serve are among the most marginalized social groups in Angola” was the lack of access to education.

“Please pray for Mauricio and others like him who spend half of their day traveling to and from school,” the post read.

A previous post detailed “spreading manure by hand on a 40 x 16 meter agricultural plot” as part of a daily task he performed in Angola.

What we don’t know

Authorities have not yet announced whether charges will be filed against the potential suspect.