Exodus Mandate, based in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, is an evangelical Christian effort promoting a mass withdrawal of religious students from the public school system and into evangelical Christian schools or homeschooling. Founded in 1997 by E. Ray Moore, Jr. of Frontline Ministries, the organization's motto is "Christian Children need Christian Education." The group is active within the Southern Baptist Convention and has introduced a succession of public school-related initiatives within the Convention.
Organizational Actions
Since its founding, Exodus Mandate have endorsed the Mission America-spearheaded "School Risk Audit" program to investigate schools for any sign of LGBT tolerance or support. Examples given include anti-bullying programs and safe-schools programs that include lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender students, and anti-discrimination policies that include LGBT students, faculty, or staff. A version of the Risk Audit published by Concerned Women for America states that male homosexuality "reduces life expectancy at age 20 by at least 8-20 years" and that female homosexuality "substantially increases the risk of contracting breast cancer." This effort is also supported by a variety of evangelical fundamentalist Christian organizations, including Concerned Women for America, the American Family Association, and the Family Research Council.
In May 2007, the group put forth a resolution supporting president Dr. Frank Page's call for SBC churches to found more Christian schools and encourage SBC parents to send their children to these institutions.