Reformation or Restoration? Recovering the Ekklesia for the Last Day Harvest
What Was Lost Must Be Restored
I. WHAT WAS LOST MUST BE RESTORED
{Luke 19:10} ... “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Reformation and Restoration. Both are important words. Both must be understood for the believer to understand the broad movements of God in the salvation history. Both are sovereign movements of God in the story of His people. But they are not the same thing.
A Reformation corrects what has become corrupted or is no longer effective or efficient—God repairs, adjusts, fixes, and thus redemption history continues to flow forward under His sovereign hand.
A Restoration reaches further—it restores what God has already given, but His people have forgotten, rejected, or the enemy has stolen altogether—revival often follows the Lord’s Restoration Movements.
Throughout church history, God has moved to reform theology, revive holiness, and transform His holy institutions. But in our time, the Spirit is stirring. It is something deeper and more ancient: He is restoring what we lost, not just reforming what we already have! In this restoration, the ekklesia is a fresh, new spiritual manifestation. The restoration isn’t just ethical, theological, or even liturgical. It is governmental, covenantal, and missional. It’s a return to the Lord’s original New Testament design for His people as ekklesia—His called-out, kingdom-governing assembly on earth.
II. DEFINING THE MOVEMENTS: REFORMATION VS. RESTORATION
Reformation: Reformation is a redemptive, Godly adjustment. It emerges when Christianity has drifted into error, human hierarchy, or compromise. Reformation refines theology, rebukes corruption, and reforms the wayward vessels of institutional religion. It's about fixing what's broken or no longer working as intended. However, often in the process of fixing something, something else is lost. The history of reformation is honorable, but limited. Reform movements often remain within the safe boundaries of the old wineskins that carried them. They repair—but rarely abandon—the old wineskins. Thus, they pass on the remaining flaws to the next generation of believers.
Restoration: Restoration, on the other hand, isn’t concerned with repair but recovery. It seeks to restore what God originally intended before the damage, distortion, decline, or satanic theft occurred. It’s creative, not corrective. Restoration movements don’t ask, “How can we fix this?” They ask, “What did God originally design?” While reformation tries to recalibrate the church, restoration resurrects the ekklesia. And it almost always emerges outside the system, not within it. The old system often persecutes it.
III. THE HOUSE CHURCH MOVEMENT: A RESTORATION OF THE ORIGINAL
The present-day house church movement isn’t a reformation of the methods and practices of denominational or other contemporary religious institutions. It isn't a shift in basic Christian doctrine, leadership standards or expectations, or different ways to use buildings. It is a return to the simple and basic principles and patterns of covenant relational community as given by the Spirit to the New Testament writers.
We don’t claim to possess the only blueprint for local gathering as Christ’s ekklesia. There is no flawless formula. We approach the Word with humility, not presumption. Yet the Scriptures offer more than enough light to shape local gatherings that reflect heaven’s design. Many of these apostolic patterns were buried under centuries of tradition or erased by intentional institutional preference. Still, in this hour, the Spirit is unearthing the original heavenly architecture of the King’s Ekklesia for those with ears to hear and eyes to see.
It isn’t just a physical move to Sunday services in believers’ homes. It is the reappearance of the Acts 2 pattern: apostolic teaching, deep, authentic fellowship, supernatural ministry, shared meals, and citywide witness. It is ekklesia restored. And in this restoration, God is reforming the “church” as we know it by restoring His kingdom people as He designed them: Spirit-led, Kingdom-governed, and led by King Jesus Himself, not institutionally managed.
IV. COVENANT, KINGDOM, AND EKKLESIA: THE FOUNDATION OF RESTORATION
Covenant: The Reformation emphasized and reclaimed doctrinal truth—justification by faith, the authority of Scripture, and the doctrines of grace. But Restoration goes further, reclaiming relational covenant. It restores the biblical pattern of a people united by promise, rather than just the “church” traditional practices of the day. The ekklesia is a covenant community; it isn’t held together by denomination or the specific building you choose to go to on Sundays. It is held together by the Lord’s divine calling, kingdom alignment, and covenant love as He places you in the body of Christ in a local place.
Kingdom: Restoration is centered on kingdom advancement, not on the institutional growth of any given church. It cleanses the Lord’s house and advances the King’s domain. It shifts the conversation from buildings to kingdom rulership, from professional clergy to individual personal commission, from Sunday attendance to everyday life in the kingdom.
{Matthew 16:19} ... “I will give you the keys of the kingdom…”
Ekklesia: Jesus used the word ekklesia, not the word "church," to describe His people. Ekklesia was a political word: a governing body called out to legislate on behalf of a king. The Ekklesia Restoration movements don’t return God’s people to the church of the 1970s,1500s, or even the 300s. It goes back even further to the Kingdom’s blueprint in Acts 2: small gatherings, Spirit-filled, sacrificial, and unapologetically supernatural.
V. DISCERNMENT IN THE DAYS OF RESTORATION
Every restoration movement is vulnerable. It sometimes lacks the safeguards that previous reform efforts have provided. Where reformation is secured in Scripture, restoration runs with revelation. This can bring fresh fire, but also spiritual error if not grounded in the Word. Authentic restoration must be grounded in Scripture, the Spirit, and the covenant. After all, 1 Corinthians was a loving corrective letter setting order to spiritual excesses. The goal is not something new and different for the sake of newness, but new wineskins for a Last Days Harvest. It must recover the character of Christ along with the works of Christ. We must remember: Christ isn’t restoring church culture. He is restoring the ekklesia to rule in love, restoring the broken in spirit, and reclaiming His dominion on the earth.
VI. THE CALL TO THE RESTORERS
{Revelation 21:5} ... “Behold, I am making all things new.”
This is the ekklesia generation. We are no longer overlookers. We aren’t here to preserve religious systems. We are here to restore what Eden lost, what religion suppressed, and what Jesus established through His death and resurrection.
PROPHETIC DECLARATION: We declare that this isn’t just another season of reformation, but a season of full restoration. The King, our Cornerstone, isn’t just adjusting His house—He is rebuilding it from the foundation. We aren’t reformers of religious systems—we are restorers of the King’s apostolic blueprint. We rise as the ekklesia, anointed, equipped, and seated with Christ in His throne room. We carry kingdom keys, the fullness of the Power of the kingdom, not programs but revelation, not religion but covenant. We are Spirit-filled, mission-minded, and bound by covenant. The Spirit of the Lord is upon us to restore what was stolen, broken, or forgotten. We will rebuild the ancient altars, raise ruins, and revive the ancient paths. The house church movement isn’t another church trend—it’s a Last Day’s trumpet call. And we are the voice calling the lost people of God back into His original design.
Victor A. Casillas, Covenant Hill Ministries
Tree of Life Home Church, San Antonio, Texas
Covenant Hill House Church Network