BLYTHEWOOD – SC Gov. Henry McMaster awarded The Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina’s highest civilian honor, to E. Ray Moore Jr. of Cedar Creek on Feb.5, at the SC Capitol among his friends and family members.
The award recognized Ray’s achievements in ministry, public affairs and military service. He has served fifty years in pastoral ministry as a congregational minister, Army Chaplain or director of a Christian ministry. He has been married to the former Gail Pinckney for fifty-five years, and they have four children and nine grandchildren.
Noted was Ray’s 50-year involvement in advancing K-12 Christian and homeschool education as a co-founder of Frontline Ministries, Inc., and Exodus Mandate. Ray has been a national leader in the growth of K-12 Christian education and homeschooling, and Ray and Gail were a pioneering home school family in 1977. In 2000, Ray and Gail were chosen as “South Carolina Parents of the Year.”
Ray was also engaged in working for good government and public policy since his high school days in Aiken, SC. He has served in both the active Army and Army Reserve for over 30 years, retiring with the rank of Lt. Colonel. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his service in Gulf War I as an Army Chaplain.
Ray is also the chairman of the board for the San Diego-based Public School Exit ministry. He was the founding chairman for the Christian Education Initiative, an alliance of 25+ Christian education or higher education ministries for four and a half years. He is now chairman emeritus.
In 2010, Ray and Gail co-authored a book on parenting Christian children entitled, The Promise of Jonadab: Building a Christian Family Legacy in a Time of Cultural Decline. This book is a handbook on disciplining children and has been translated into Mandarin for the Chinese people.
