Exodus Mandate Celebrates 10 Years in Homeschooling Movement
One of the leading advocates for Christian-based home schooling education celebrated its tenth anniversary Tuesday, marking a decade of influence in the home schooling movement in America.
Around 200 banquet attendees celebrated the anniversary of Frontline Ministries' Exodus Mandate project at the Columbia Conference Center in Columbia, SC.
The Exodus Mandate promotes K-12 Christian and home-based education as an alternative to state-run public schools.
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During its ten years in service, the group has helped to reframe the K-12 education national debate from reforming public education toward an emphasis on Christian families and churches choosing Christian schools or home schooling, according to E. Ray Moore, director and founder of the Exodus Mandate
There are around 1-2 million kids who are home schooled, according to the U.S. Dept. of Education. Moore, however, estimates the real figure to be around 2.1 to 2.5 million children.
Moore, who believes the Great Commission also calls for Christian education of children, observed that the track record for kids who are home-schooled has been both positive and encouraging.
"Home schooling is now proven to be superior in many cases to a public school education in terms of academics, socialization and especially the transmission of the Christian and moral values of the family and Church," Moore told The Christian Post, noting that exceptions exist "as utopia is not possible in any arena."
The retired Army Reserve chaplain and Gulf War I veteran added, "With home schoolers gaining admission to Ivy League schools and military academies as well as local colleges and universities, we now know that home schooling works well in the academic arena."
During the banquet, Moore presented the "Dr. Robert Dreyfus Courageous Christian Leadership Award" to Dr. Bruce Shortt and retired Air Force Brig. Gen. T.C. Pinckney for their work in promoting K-12 Christian education and home schooling in the Southern Baptist Convention – America's largest Protestant denomination.
Prison Fellowship Ministries President Mark Earley delivered the main address, calling for a "renaissance" in Christian education among the wreckage of a "collapsed and decayed" culture.
Earley emphasized the role of churches in renewing a fallen culture. He urged churches to support parents in fulfilling their responsibility of education their children. Furthermore, he drew from lessons in the Book of Amos to remind churches that renewing the culture doesn't involve "asking them to change, but it's about the church delivering."
Guests at the gathering said they were pleased with hearing about the group's progress.
"We're on the right track, making a difference in the Christian community," said Elise Edson, an Exodus Mandate staff member who home-schooled her four daughters. "Tonight was an encouragement to keep on keeping on."
Besides the Exodus Mandate project, Frontline Ministries also offers a mentoring network for parents called Home Schooling Family to Family and operates a chaplaincy service to provide Christian ministry in the workplace.
