Episcopal Leader
Bishop João Somane Machado (pronounced Juh-oh-ah-uun So-mah-neh Mah-shah-dough) was elected to the episcopacy in 1988 at the age of 42, while serving as assistant to Bishop Almeda Penicela, his predecessor.  At that time he was the youngest person ever elected bishop in the United Methodist Church.   Bishop Machado was born in Cambine-Morrumbene in the Province of Inhambane, Mozambique on May 16, 1946.  He attended the Methodist run school at Cambine Mission Station in his youth.  He completed a Bachelor of Divinity degree from the Methodist School of Theology in Brazil and an advanced degree in Theology from the Protestant Faculty of Theology in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo.)   He served as pastor at Malhangalene, Cambine, and Machava UM churches.  He also served the church as a teacher and then Headmaster at the Theology School at Cambine.  He has been a faculty member at Ricalta Seminary, an ecumenical institution located at the outskirts of Maputo.  

Bishop Machado was instrumental in the peace process that brought an end to a 17-year conflict that devastated his homeland.  He was personally involved in bringing the warring parties to the negotiation table and in mediating a peace accord, signed in 1992.   Bishop Machado is married to Nocia Madonela Machado.  They have four children. 

Statement from Bishop Machado:

It looks like the world, especially humankind, is in a process of self-discovery. We hear about the New World order, about globalization, and about the need for equal economic relationships between countries. Nations are challenging the old paradigms of imposition and paternalism and calling for new ones that promote just cooperation, mutual respect, and interdependence.  

This is the context in which the churches are being called to think about and redefine the concept and practice of mission. Yesterday, mission was characterized by the desire to evangelize and "civilize" the "uncivilized" people of the world. It meant giving everything possible to those who were presumed to have nothing to share. The relationship was one-sided, with givers on one side and recipients on the other.  

Now, we have begun to talk about the need to incorporate the concept of "mutuality" in our mission. We now recognize that something was missing in our attempts to bring love, compassion, and life to the world. For a long time we have been trying to save people from this world of sin and give them eternal life in heaven. In their struggle for survival, people around the world developed new ways of understanding, living, and worshiping God.  

Today we are witnessing rapid growth and development of churches in Africa and other third world countries. This development challenges us to ask questions that we have never asked before. It pushes us to realize that the first world does not have all the answers to our problems. Not only can we can find solutions to our problems in our own countries, but we also are in a position to teach our brothers in the first world and to share with them our wisdom and commitment to the word of God. We embrace mission that is mutual because we realize that we have something to give and that we even have some answers to some of the problems that preoccupy our brothers and sisters in the first world.  We also believe that we are in a position to send missionaries to other continents to share God's love and compassion.

If we accept that the word "mutual" means interchangeable and done reciprocally then we need to move from a relationship of self dehumanization and destruction to a more humane and respectful one in which everyone — in the Third World and in the First World – can and does contribute something toward the common goal: the establishment of the Kingdom of God in this world.