About Us
Our History
Restoring faith, home and community in the Name of Jesus.
Our Mission Today: 2010-
For the individual, the recovery process has had many obstacles: obstinate insurance companies, unscrupulous contractors, material shortages and endless government bureaucracy, just to name a few. Estimates place the recovery effort at taking a decade or longer. Thousands of homeowners continue the slow and often agonizing process of rebuilding. On top of the homes still needing repair, many community services and organizations dependent on volunteers remain hard-hit as well.
Mindful of the continuing need, RAI Ministries began a three-year transformation in 2008 from a short-term disaster-relief organization to an ongoing, sustainable ministry that continues to connect volunteers from around the nation with opportunities to help restore faith, home and community in the Name of Jesus.
As grant-based case management programs were brought to completion and Camp Biloxi was phased out, in 2010 organizational focus turned to continuing work through Camp Restore in New Orleans. Pastor David Goodine accepted the call to become the next Executive Director of RAI Ministries, and Pastor David Buss transferred his leadership duties to Goodine in August 2010.
Beginning in July 2010, the 2010-2011 volunteer “season” has thus far proved to be the busiest in Camp Restore’s history, with approximately 4,000 volunteers scheduled to arrive through June 2011. Registrations for the 2011-2012 season are off to a great start as well, with several weeks of bookings already topping 2010 numbers.
Looking forward, the staff of Camp Restore and board of RAI Ministries are excited to continue welcoming, housing, feeding and equipping thousands of volunteers for service every year in the Greater New Orleans Area. Most exciting are the stories of volunteers who’ve taken their Camp Restore experience and turned it into new efforts to love their neighbors back home. They know personally what it means to “Restore and be Restored.”
RAI Ministries is a Recognized Service Organization of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and is in the process of applying to be a recognized Social Ministry Organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. We welcome groups of all backgrounds who seek to work together restoring faith, home and community.