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Dave Rains, pastor of the Salvation Army Recovery Church in Napier, died in a motorcycle accident Saturday.
Dave Rains was a huge man with the face of a fighter and the heart of an angel.
The 60-year-old Napier man, who died in a motorcycle accident on Saturday, led a full and occasionally difficult life before overcoming addictions, finding God and dedicating himself to helping others.
For the past nine months, he had been pastor of the Church of Recovery in the Salvation Army, supporting others and helping those who were fighting their own demons.
A father of nine and an avid motorcyclist, he was a well-known and respected Napier identity.
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When Judith Collins went to Napier last month to launch the National Party’s methamphetamine policy, Rains was part of a small group of ex-addicts to share her ideas and voice her thoughts.
Dave Rains (aka Dave Blackley) speaking out about addiction last month.
Rains loved his wife Sue, their nine children (Brendon, Michael, Conrad, Pip, Holden, Christopher, Hazel, Raymond, and Aidin), motorcycles, and people.
He was a member of the Kingdom Riders Christian Motorcycle Ministry club in New Zealand. He was killed in a collision on State Highway 2 near Waipawa on Saturday.
In an interview for The Salvation Army magazine last year, he said he got into trouble for the first time at the age of six.
“Then I became a minor offender for decades: motorcycles, violence, drugs. All my youth, all my youth was spent in jail. I was 16 when I received my first prison sentence in 1977. When I went to jail, I gave scared, but it seemed to fit in. I learned to fight, and as soon as I had my first fight and won, I became a bully, “he said.
MARTY SHARPE / Things
David Rains, left, speaking with National Party leader Judith Collins in Napier last month, alongside Chris Jenkins. Collins launched National’s methamphetamine policy after meeting with local addiction service providers.
“My life revolved around crime, and the only ways I knew I was accepted was with people: please knock you out or sell you drugs. So for 40 years that was the only way I knew how to get things down. and depressed, I felt so bad, but it was starting to get worse “
His life changed about 20 years ago after a casual visit to the Salvation Army church.
Salvation Army officer and close friend Captain Brenton Millar said that Rains will be deeply missed.
”He was someone who could really affect change and who did good for everyone. He was the type of person who would get in the gutter with people to help get them out, ”Millar said.
“In the worst moments of people’s addictions, he was by their side. It didn’t matter who they were or what their background was, he loved people. He had been through a lot in his own life. He found God and a lasting change took place. That’s what made him so good at what he did, ”he said.
Rains’ funeral will be at The Salvation Army, on Tait Drive, Greenmeadows, Napier, at 11 am on Thursday.
