Rev. Marissa Farrow presents with a tiny frame and a humble persona that can easily be misleading. When she stands at the sacred desk and proclaims God’s word, she towers above and thunders throughout with an unmistakable trumpet sound.
Rev. Howard-John Wesley recently invited her to Alexandria, Virginia, to preach for Alfred Street Baptist Church’s March Gladness Spring Revival. ” I wanted to hear her preach,” he said.
“I could not wait to invite her to Alfred Street Baptist Church. I hope y’all get something out of it too.” He pronounced her to be a “bad mama jama,” of course referring to her preaching. And rightfully so. She stands out from the crowd.
And she’s not new to it.
Farrow grew up in Baltimore in the home of Bishop Robert and Evangelist Jacqueline Farrow and has been soaked and shaped by the power of prayer and the worship of God. The senior Farrow is pastor of Mt. Calvary Church and Ministries in Baltimore, so church is what Marissa Farrow has always known.
But who knew she’d flourish at such a young age into an international preacher who, at 34, is still envisioning the ministry God has shaped her for?
“I’ve never known anything else. When we got up in the morning, we prayed. When we left for school, we prayed. When we got ready to travel, we prayed,” she says. “Prayer for us is everything.”
Thus, “The Morning Cup,” the prayer ministry Farrow shares on Instagram, attracts more than 1.5 million people on a weekly basis — with an audience that is among the youngest on social media.
And they’re the ones in her heart when she talks about mission.
One of her connections is to campus ministry. She is aware of the needs students often encounter, even very basic daily needs, and she’d like to expand her ministry in that space.
Training and Mentoring
For the last 11 years, Farrow has been under the tutelage of the Reverend Doctors Floyd and Elaine Flake, senior pastors of the 23,000-member Greater Allen Cathedral in Jamaica, Queens, New York, an experience she cherishes deeply.
“I couldn’t have learned anywhere else what I’ve gotten from being in practice and praxis with them,” says Farrow, who began as a preaching intern. “Even now, I’m preaching, teaching, and serving as the social media manager. It has been invaluable.” Not to mention the marvelous preachers to whom she’s been exposed.
She has also written two books, “Delivered From Dysfunction: A Seven-Step Guide to a Better You!” and “The Amazing Weight: The Gift, Grief and Glory of the Called.”
Hampton Ministers Conference
This year marks the 110th year that ministers from around the world, including military chaplains and university professors, gather on Hampton University’s campus in Virginia, during the first full week of June for the Hampton Ministers Conference.
It is a premier gathering for teaching, preaching, rejuvenating, fellowshipping, and having the freedom to worship without the constraints of ministry obligations. News is announced, books and films are released, and the very best of Black preaching is shared along with a phenomenal communion service.
Farrow is one of the featured preachers for the 2024 conference. This honor is usually reserved for preachers with many years of experience and a professional ministry degree, a Master of Divinity, which she’ll earn this year from the Samuel Dewitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University.
”I really couldn’t believe it when they asked me last year to preach,” she says. “It’s still hard to believe, but I’m praying, and many others are praying with me.”
