Africa Regional Director Dany Gomis announced that the board of Seminário Nazareno em Moçambique (Nazarene Seminary Mozambique) elected Halissone Jamissone Nefitala as the new principal. 

He succeeds Adolfo Tembe, who served faithfully for ten years. 

“We are grateful for the long and thorough work undertaken by the search committee, the board chair, Jose Moiane, and his team in consultation with the field strategy coordinator, Aderito Ferreira,” said Gabriel Benjamin, regional education coordinator.

Halisonne Nefitala was born in Tsangano-Tete, Mozambique, to a Christian family of 10 children. Nefitala 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 a refugee of civil war. He received an education in Malawi and received Jesus Christ at age 15 upon returning from Malawi.

Nefitala has a great passion and vision for Christlike discipleship. 

“We consider Halissone Nefitala a competent and enthusiastic leader,” Benjamin said. "He, his family, and the educational team will certainly deliver highly on the expectations for clergy and Christian leader development.” 

Nefitala’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. 

“In 2008, I started my Diploma in Theology at Seminario Nazareno Mozambique (SNM),” Nefitala said. “In 2010, I joined the high school here and 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.”

Nefitala is a gifted linguist. He speaks Chichewa/Chinyanja, Nyungwe, Portuguese, English, and Shangana. He has a good understanding of Spanish, Siswati, and written Hebrew and Greek. He also adapts quickly to new cultural contexts.

Halisonne is married to Lidia, and together they have two children.

--Church of the Nazarene Africa Region