CHURCH HISTORY

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN FOR THE WORD OF RESTORATION

It began in the latter part of the year 2000 when the Spirit of God spoke in a clear and concise vision to Pastor Charles E. Perry, Jr. saying these words:

  • Establish a multi-cultural church/body of believers in the Arcola/Fresno, Texas area.
  • The name of the church is to be Word of Restoration where people can come and receive a word for their own restoration.
  • The vision of the church is to be “Restoring Lives with the Word of God”.
  • The assignment is to build Me (God) a city: “The City of Restoration”.

In February 2001, a core group consisting of 13 people came together under the leadership of Pastor Perry to establish Word of Restoration. On Sunday, March 4, 2001, Luella Belle Goodman Elementary was transformed into the gathering place where 200 excited believers worshipped together as Word of Restoration Christian Fellowship for the very first time. That day marked the official manifestation of the Restoration journey…one filled with God’s love, faith, and favor.

Goodman Elementary remained the gathering place for worship where Word of Restoration experienced phenomenal growth until September 2001. At that time, the ministry was blessed to lease a 10,000 square-foot facility which housed the sanctuary, Radical Praise House Children’s Church, Chosen Generation Nursery and administrative offices.

As the Lord continued to bless this progressive new ministry, an additional 4,000 square-foot facility fondly referred to as “The N.E.T.” was acquired in April 2002 to house what was then the IMPACT Teen Ministry. This facility was created especially for the Word of Restoration teenagers with an auditorium, game room, weight room and a full basketball court.

In November 2003, Word of Restoration’s reach expanded beyond its walls to the community with numerous outreach and community support events. Its reach also extended beyond the community to the nation when the “Restoring Lives” television broadcast launched, restoring lives with the Word of God all over the country.

2005 was truly a year of amazing grace in that Word of Restoration was blessed to acquire 44 acres of land, the home of “The City of Restoration”. “If Not for Grace” was the theme of the day on Sunday, April 5, 2009, when the ministry held the very first worship experience in its newly-erected 32,000 square-foot worship center.

By the year 2012, 7620 FM 521 was a fully-functioning campus, housing “The Zone” facility for teens, “The Intersection” facility for elementary and middle school students, “Kidz Kingdom” nursery for infants and toddlers, administrative offices and an on-site guest suite in addition to the existing worship facility, totaling nearly 60,000 square feet.

In 2014, God continued to move in a mighty way in the life of the ministry. Out of the prophetic utterance of Dr. Myles Munroe, Word of Restoration Christian Fellowship was transformed to Word of Restoration International Church with the spiritual mandate to expand the life-restoring Word of God to an international platform.

In March of 2015, Bishop Steve and Dr. Donna Leah Houpe of Harvest Church International Outreach in Kansas City, Missouri became the spiritual parents of Dr. and Lady Perry.

The Word of Restoration journey embodies God’s faithfulness and favor…He keeps His promises. He took a man, gave him a message and spoke a vision that led him from devastation to restoration! Beginning with 13 willing souls and no assets, God has blessed HIS vision to manifest with 44 acres of land, a 60,000 square-foot campus, and thousands who call this place home.

In January 2017, during the Vision Casting gathering, Dr. Perry made the faith declaration that Word of Restoration would see supernatural debt elimination through “1.7 in 20-17” (1.7 million dollars in the year 2017, which represented the remaining debt for The City of Restoration).  In September, 2017, during the Atonement Ceremony, not only did God provide a life-restoring Word through Dr. Perry, but He also led Dr. Perry to share that in the same month the vision had been actualized and everything within The City of Restoration and on the grounds of the 44 acres had been PAID IN FULL! The Word of Restoration family gave God unrestricted praise for the miraculous provision to see the spoken Word of God come to pass. In the words of Dr. Perry, “Being debt free is a great accomplishment, but not the highlight of this ministry…there’s much more work to be done.”