Overflowing: Ministry and Missions that Flow from the Heart

EMQ » Jul – Oct 2024 » Volume 60 Issue 3

Reviewed by Marcus Dean, professor of intercultural studies and missions, Houghton University, who served as a missionary in Colombia and Puerto Rico for 14 years.

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Motivation matters in ministry and missions. In Overflowing, from the introduction to the appendix, Kyle Farran guides the reader through understanding that what God does in us as his servants is more important than what he does through us. We are consistently challenged to ask, “Am I in ministry or missions for myself or for God?”

The journey is made personal as Farran shares from his own experiences of learning to serve God from an overflowing heart rather than to achieve ministry success. The foundational principles for being a useful servant who gives God the glory are laid out in the first two chapters, which present God’s search for useful servants with an overflowing heart, and a description of such a heart. The rest of the book guides the reader in a biblical self-analysis of their heart.

Part 1 (chapter 3) reminds us that God is the source or spring for an overflowing heart. The question is “Will we go with God’s flow to seek his glory over our own?” Part 2 (chapter 4) focuses on the stream of God’s power. Central to being in the stream is worship, which empowers us to serve for God’s glory.

Part 3 (chapters 5–10) describes the barriers of unbelief, disobedience, and pride that prevent our hearts from overflowing. Farran helps us explore our hearts for evidence of these barriers. Even though the focus is on the barriers, the needed positives of faith, holiness, how we think, and humility are carefully addressed. Part 4 (chapters 11–14) describes the goal of an overflowing heart: being an oasis. We are an oasis when we connect with others who need God and are joyful and loving in our relationships with them as we share about God.

Farran challenges the reader with the idea that, before and as we engage in service, who we are and the condition of our hearts are of utmost importance. He also reminds us that God works as he chooses, and, while we need to be available and have an overflowing heart, this is not a secret formula to guarantee that God uses us as we wish. 

Overall, this book is to read more than once: the first time for an overview, and then again to work through the details carefully, perhaps repeating this every few years.

As I read the book, it was occasionally challenging to relate to my life because of my own particular personal struggles and life circumstances. I was wanting to hear more of the author’s struggles. Could he relate to my struggles? This comes out more in the appendix on health, so read that too!

This is a book for weary veterans who need to return to overflowing. It is vital for those who are new in service or who are thinking about entering into ministry and missions who need a solid starting point for ministry that focuses on God’s glory!

For Further Reading

Knowing God to Make Him Known: Living out the Attributes of God Cross-Culturally by Ed Scheuerman (Wipf & Stock, 2021)

Cross-Cultural Servanthood: Serving the World in Christlike Humility by Duane Elmer (IVP Books, 2006)

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EMQ, Volume 60, Issue 3. Copyright © 2024 by Missio Nexus. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from Missio Nexus. Email: EMQ@MissioNexus.org.