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 by two home educating parents who had recognized a void for a youth program that was intentional in its Christ-life focus instead of on entertainment only. Their basic desire was that this program included solid Bible teaching which would reinforce what was already being taught in their Christian homes, balanced with fun and fellowship with peers – i.e. a wholesome environment outside their home for their teenagers to be challenged mentally, develop relationally, and grow spiritually as they go through adolescence.
A few months later, the first Jumpstart camp was held in June 2010 on the South Island of New Zealand. As Jumpstart began to grow in numbers and popularity within the NZ homeschool community, Jumpstart planted its first camp on the North Island in 2016. In 2023 we were approached by some people in Australia about the possibility of bringing Jumpstart there, so prayer and discussions began! By September 2024 the first Jumpstart camp in Australia was held in NSW with an overwhelmingly supportive and enthusiastic response! Flying all the way from Tasmania, 4 teens attending this first Australian Jumpstart led to being asked if we would bring Jumpstart to Tasmania too, which happened in February 2026! We are likely to have Jumpstart camps in other areas of Australia in the future as interest and invitations continue to increase. We will go as the Lord leads us.
Over the last 16 years, Jumpstart has been established as a trusted annual camp that is anticipated by many Christian home-educating families in New Zealand & Australia. Parents have been blessed to see their teens impacted, encouraged, and strengthened in their faith. We have been told numerous times that Jumpstart is considered a highlight in their year, and that it has become a ‘must have’ staple in their home education annual plan!