04/01/2022

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Classic DACB Collection
All articles created or submitted in the first twenty years of the project, from 1995 to 2015.
Masowe, Johane
1914-1973
Gospel of God Church
Zimbabwe
Multiple versions are available:
Founder of the Gospel of God Church in Zimbabwe, Johane Masowe had a career remarkably similar to another Shona prophet, Johane Maranke. Both men came from eastern Zimbabwe and both had deep religious experiences in 1932. As a result, both assumed the role of a modern-day John the Baptist by preaching repentance and baptism among African peoples. Both traveled far and wide establishing groups of followers, first in Zimbabwe, then throughout southern, central, and east Africa, and beyond. These groups are collectively known as vaPostori, or Apostles in Shona. They are characterized by their appearance: men shave their heads and grow beards, while women wear white dresses and scarves.
Johane Masowe was born in 1914 or 1915 in Gandanzara village in Makoni district of eastern Zimbabwe, the second of six sons and a daughter born to Jack and Efie Masedza, of the Manyika subgroup of the Shona people. His parents named him Shoniwa Masedza Tandi Moyo [1], but the change of name to Johane Masowe came about through the religious experience that launched him into an itinerant preaching ministry from 1932 until his death in 1973.
Police records from the white colonial regime of Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) indicate that Johane Masowe first got the attention of the authorities when he was arrested in 1932 for traveling around preaching without proper documents. In the police interrogation, he explained that he began having severe pains in the head that culminated in a dream that he had died. After that, he heard voices saying that his name was now John, which he interpreted to mean John the Baptist. This new name carried a mandate to preach to the African people.
His commission came from spending forty days in pray
