The Rideouts have requested privacy and space as they heal and reconnect with family. The Echo is honoring this request.
Mission organization SIM International confirmed on Aug. 14 that one of its missionaries, Kevin Rideout, had been released after over nine months in captivity.
Rideout is the uncle of Taylor alumni Kay (‘24) and Tom (‘26) Rideout. Kevin Rideout is a missionary pilot for SIM, an evangelical mission agency that partners with over 4,000 people serving in 70+ countries, according to its website.
Rideout had been kidnapped from outside his Niger home on Oct. 21, 2025. The released statement said Rideout was in the care of U.S. officials at the time, and it invited readers to praise God for his recent release.
Once back with family, Rideout and his wife released an additional statement via SIM.
“After these many months apart, there are few words adequate to express what it means simply to be reunited,” the statement read.
The Rideouts expressed gratitude for the U.S. government and those who coordinated Kevin’s release, as well as SIM and its support through the event.
They also emphasized the role of prayer in their journey, thanking those around the world that lifted them up in prayer; their own family “who never stopped praying, hoping, and believing” and those continuing to surround them in prayers.
Jenny Collins, associate professor of intercultural studies, said there are many ways to petition the Lord for people who have or are currently serving in hostile environments.
The book of Nehemiah provides a good guide when seeking to pray for believers experiencing opposition, she said. We can follow Nehemiah’s example in praying for two specific things:
“(Pray for) God’s favor toward those being persecuted to come through in either the government or the other structures that exist,” she said, “and then, second, that God would be glorified even as they suffer and are persecuted.”
She also said people can pray for strength that the persecuted would stand firm and not lose hope, that the oppressed would receive justice and that God would comfort the families of the persecuted.
Collins pointed to passages like Romans 15:30-32 or 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 where the Apostle Paul urges people to pray for him and his company as they serve in dangerous contexts.
“Paul really did believe that the prayers of the churches he was in contact with made a difference for his deliverance,” she said.
The Rideouts’ statement also described their complex emotions following this season, noting their grief as well as their continued love for Niger, the country of their ministry.
“Niger and its people are woven deeply into our lives and into the calling God has given us,” the statement said. “We continue to love them and carry them in our hearts and prayers.”
When making sense of missions in dangerous places, Collins said it is important for missionaries to have this love for the people they are sent to, recognizing that God ultimately loves them. They too are made in His image, and Jesus died for them, Collins said.
The Rideouts thanked the Lord in their released statement and declared his faithfulness—“even in the hardest and most uncertain moments.”
There will be times God calls his people to go through difficult circumstances, Collins said. In these trials, believers can look to Jesus. He understands what it means to suffer unjustly, she said. Jesus was sent to a dangerous place, persecuted and mocked, spiritually attacked and ultimately put to death.
He has gone before us, so he can also provide peace and comfort for people today who have or are experiencing persecution, she said.
