John Marion is the Territorial Youth and Young Adults Specialist for The Salvation Army in Australia.

John has worked with young people for over 15 years at local, state and national levels. John has worked with young people from the margins at camps and in schools. He has worked to develop programs and leadership for work with young people at the local levels, as well as contributing significantly to child safety practices and policies within the Salvation Army. John brings a broad academic background to his work, with studies in philosophy, counselling, youth work, as well as his studies in divinity prizes for Church History and overall achievement.

John has engaged in research with young people and those who work with them. He has contributed papers to the regional conference of the International Association for the Study of Youth Ministry, focussing on youth-centred youth ministry, co-design in youth ministry, and youth leader perspectives on belonging. John is currently engaged in PhD studies through Victoria University in Melbourne, focussing on how belonging works in the lives of young people and how youth work engages that.

John has engaged in training and developing youth leaders for over 10 years. He led a successful and well-regarded youth leadership development program in Perth, Western Australia, whose graduates gained employment in a number of youth-related fields, including schools, local government, and in churches. John has also spoken to many different groups in his areas of expertise and has previously taught at Eva Burrows College.

John continues to work with young people on the local level through his involvement at the Mitcham Salvation Army, where he works with the local high school and alongside a community of young people. In his professional work, he is part of the team responsible for the Salvation Army’s national Summer Carnival, a camp that holds great significance to many young people across Australia.

University Appointments

Adjunct Lecturer (Eva Burrows College)