About JumpStart
Dale Epp
Originally from Canada, Dale has served with the ministry of Torchbearers International for over 30 years. He and his wife first spent several years on staff in Texas at His Hill before moving to New Zealand in 2003 to pioneer and lead the Capernwray Bible School there on the South Island until 2014. Dale continues to teach as a guest teacher at several of the Torchbearer Bible Schools and is also a self-employed residential Builder in NZ.
Dale is the Founder and Director of Jumpstart – a growing camp ministry aimed for home-educated teens - which began in 2010 in New Zealand. Dale and his wife have 2 adult children.
Josh Marshall
(Programme Director)
I grew up in New Zealand in a big homeschooling family and was raised as a God fearing, Bible believing Christian. I began volunteering at kids camps when I was 14 and have grown into various leadership roles in youth camps ever since. I joined the Jumpstart team in 2020 as the Programme Director and it has been very exciting to be a part of its growth and expansion into different regions.
I love working with kids/teens and young people who are discovering their identity in Christ and owning their Faith as they move from relying on the Faith of their parents. When I’m not at Jumpstart I currently work as a truck driver/ farm hand in Australia. I have also worked in the building trade for about 7 years.
Marise Stuart-Menzies
I am one of eight kids, raised in a homeschooling Christian family. I was 19 when the lights went on in my heart, and the Bible suddenly became alive to me, and that marked the beginning of inward transformation that has carried on to today.
A back injury in 2020 brought my massage therapy occupation to an end, and these last few years have been dedicated to being discipled in biblical worship, leadership, the Word and intimacy with God as preparation for ministry and missions.
I returned from overseas at the end of 2024 and am currently working towards my Level 4 Barbering qualification as a way to add a practical element to reaching the lost!
JumpStart Team
History
The Jumpstart program was conceived in New Zealand over the Christmas break in 2009 during a discussion between two home-educating parents. They had identified a need for a youth program that was intentional in its Christ-life focus, rather than centred on entertainment alone. Their desire was to create a program with solid Bible teaching that reinforced what was already being taught in Christian homes, while also providing fun, fellowship with peers, and a wholesome environment where teenagers could be challenged mentally, develop relationally, and grow spiritually through adolescence.
A few months later, the first Jumpstart camp was held on the South Island of New Zealand in June 2010. As Jumpstart grew in number and recognition within the New Zealand home-education community, the first North Island camp was launched in 2016. In 2023, people in Australia approached us about the possibility of bringing Jumpstart there, beginning a season of prayer and discussion. By September 2024, the first Australian Jumpstart camp was held in New South Wales, where it received an overwhelmingly supportive and enthusiastic response. Four teenagers travelled from Tasmania to attend that first Australian camp, which led to an invitation to bring Jumpstart to Tasmania as well; the first Tasmanian camp was held in February 2026. With further invitations now received, plans are underway to bring Jumpstart to Western Australia and Canada in 2027, as the Lord continues to lead and open doors.
Over the past 16 years, Jumpstart has become a trusted annual camp anticipated by many Christian home-educating families in New Zealand and Australia. Parents have been blessed to see their teenagers impacted, encouraged, and strengthened in their faith. Many have shared that Jumpstart is a highlight of their year and has become an essential part of their annual home-education plan.