Seminario Nazareno Mozambique Elects New Principal
The Church of the Nazarene, Africa Region, Director Dr. Dany Gomis, is pleased to announce that the Board of Seminario Nazareno Mozambique has confidently elected Rev. Halissone Jamissone Nefitala as the new principal. He succeeds Rev. Adolfo Tembe, who served faithfully for ten years. Regional Education Coordinator Dr. Gabriel Benjiman commented on the process: “We are grateful for the long and thorough work undertaken by the search committee, the Board Chair – Rev. Jose Moiane, and his team in consultation with the Field Strategy Coordinator, Rev. Aderito Ferreira.”
Rev. Halisonne Nefitala was born in Tsangano-Tete, Mozambique, to a Christian family of ten children (five boys and five girls). Rev. Halisonne accords his faith and personal discipline to his parents, who raised their children to love and obey God and respect their peers and elders. A significant period of his life was lived out in Malawi as refugees of civil war. He received an education in Malawi and received Jesus Christ at the age of 15 upon returning from Malawi.
Halisonne has a great passion and vision for Christlike discipleship. “We consider Rev. Halissone Nefitala a competent and enthusiastic leader, and he, together with his family and the educational team, will certainly deliver highly on the expectations for clergy and Christian leader development,” said the Regional Education Coordinator, Dr. Gabriel Benjiman.
Halisonne’s journey of grace reveals that God was with him at each step. He first served as a primary school teacher with a basic qualification grade. Rev. Nefitala reports: “In 2008, I started my Diploma in Theology at Seminario Nazareno Mozambique (SNM). In 2010, I joined the high school here, and I completed grade 12 in 2011. In 2012, SNM sent me to Eswatini to do a Bachelor of Theology, and I completed it in 2015. In October 2016, I joined Worldwide Evangelical Seminary to do a Master of Bible and Theology, and I graduated in 2018. In 2021, I joined Africa Nazarene University for a Master of Arts in Religion; I graduated in July 2023. In September of the same year, I was blessed with a scholarship to pursue a PhD in Religion at ANU.”
Rev. Nefitala is a gifted linguist. He speaks Chichewa/Chinyanja, Nyungwe, Portuguese, English, and Shangana. He has a good understanding of Spanish, Siswati, written Hebrew and Greek. He also adapts quickly to new cultural contexts.
Halisonne is married to Lidia, and together they share their children older son, Chissomo, 18 years (May 2024), and daughter, Esperança, 13 years old. Living on campus, the newly elected principal says: “We take advantage of our campus to do athletics, especially on weekends. The winners are the first to get a piece of cake. The losers are normally last to eat.”
Report by Dr. Gabriel Benjiman
