Statement of problem The ISCF (Inter School Christian Fellowship) is a Christian youth ministry that works with students

and teachers in high schools. The Inter School Christian Fellowship groups are often supported externally by Christian organizations. Students in the ISCF (Inter School Christian Fellowship) are expected to be well rounded and disciplined individuals to portray Christian values and attitudes. The club has a variety of activities which promote leisure and caters to the religious needs and development of its members. It is the norm for students who are members of the Inter School Christian Fellowship to display good behavior since it is religiously based. The researcher has observed that some students who are members of the Inter School Christian Fellowship behave more disciplined than non members. This has lead to the researcher assuming that the Inter School Christian Fellowship has some impact on the behaviour of its members. It is often said non members are usually rowdy and ill mannered. This sometimes results in arguments in the prominent high school. The site of disorder in a prominent high school is not pleasant as better behaviour among the students is expected. Therefore the researcher wants to identify some of the impacts the Inter School Christian Fellowship has on the behaviour of students ages 13-17 in a prominent high school in the Coperate Area. The researcher also wants to find out how best the Inter School Christian Fellowship can influence good behaviour, attitudes and values on the non-members in a prominent high school in the Coperate Area.

Aims and Objectives Aim: In what ways do the ISCF (Inter School Christian Fellowship) influence the behaviour of students ages 13-17 in a prominent high school and how does it impacts on students? Objectives: 1. To identify the reasons why the ISCF (Inter School Christian Fellowship) was established in the schools club and societies. 2. To find out how the ISCF (Inter School Christian Fellowship) influences the attitudes and values of the students. 3. To examine the extent to which the ISCF (Inter School Christian Fellowship) satisfy the religious needs of the students and contributes to their socialization.

Literature Review

According to Wikipedia.com (2013) the Inter-School Christian Fellowship (ISCF) or Inter-Scholastic Christian Fellowship is a Christian youth ministry that works with students within high schools. ISCF groups are often supported by external evangelical Christian organizations and churches - examples including the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, the Scripture Union, and local churches. The groups are often voluntarily led by senior students and usually have the support and guidance of an older mentor, youth pastor, or a patron teacher. The motto of the club is To know Christ and make him known. Andrew Wildes (2006) wrote an article titled ISCF impacting on Jamaican students 'I found God at my lowest'. The article stated that the (ISCF) was formally known as the Students' Christian Fellowship and Scripture Union's (SCFSU). It is the largest student-led organization in Jamaica. Collectively, it has over 7000 members in 200 secondary level schools, and over 700 in 22 tertiary institutions across the island. Its aim is to reach all Jamaica's future leaders while they are still developing their moral characters. The Script Union (2002) revealed that in 1879 Childrens Special Service Mission (CSSM) introduced a system of daily Bible reading, the Childrens Scripture Union. Initially members received an annual membership card with a list of daily readings and suggestions for prayer. Later, childrens magazines were produced with explanatory notes. Booklets of notes were published for troops in the trenches during the Great War from 1914-18, and led to the first issue of Daily Notes for adults in 1923. After the Second World War, the Script Union (SU) developed a new kind of ministry in state schools, the Inter School Christian Fellowship (ISCF), paving the way for school ministries which are so significant today. The Union identified several

reasons why the ISCF should be established in the schools club and societies. The Union identified that children and young people are under growing pressure to adopt secular values, with less than 5% having any regular contact with church, men and women are searching for a new spiritual reality and do not know where to turn and families were under siege from the stress of modern ways of life. Churches are forced to focus on maintenance rather than mission: 39% of churches now have no under 11s; 49% have no 11 to 14s; 59% have no 14 to 18s in their midst. In the face of this massive spiritual poverty, Scripture Union is responding to the call of Jesus' Great Commission to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19-20).The values and attitudes of the students in the prominent high school would have been influenced because of the establishment of the ISCF in the schools club and societies. The ISCF in the prominent high could be described as a religious institution which influences and has some impact on the behavior, attitudes and values of students ages 1317.

Emile Durkheim, founder of the Functionalist Theory (1921) defined religion in his book , The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life as " a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden - beliefs and practices which unite into a single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them."In modern societies, the individual and individual rights evolve to become the new sacred phenomena, and hence these may be called "religious" for Durkheim. He asserts that people use religion to develop and strengthen a sense of group solidarity. German sociologist, Max Weber initiated a largescale study of religions around the globe. His principal interest was in large, global religions with millions of believers. He conducted indepth studies of Ancient Judaism,

Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism. In The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1904/1958), the fundamental purpose of his research was to discover religion's impact on social change. To Weber, Christianity was a salvation religion that claims people can be saved when they convert to certain beliefs and moral codes. In Christianity, the idea of sin and its atonement by God's grace plays a fundamental role active; demanding continuous struggles. Karl Marx was not religious and never made a detailed study of religion. Marx's views on the sociology of religion came from 19th century philosophical and theological authors such as Ludwig Feuerbach, who wrote The Essence of Christianity (1841). Feuerbach maintained that people do not understand society, so they project their own culturally based norms and values onto separate entities such as gods, spirits, angels, and demons. Marx declared that religion is the opium of the people. He viewed religion as teaching people to accept their current lot in life, no matter how bad. Religion, then, prohibits social change by teaching nonresistance to oppression, diverting people's attention away from worldly injustices, justifying inequalities of power and wealth for the privileged and emphasizing rewards yet to come. Marx held that religion served as a sanctuary from the harshness of everyday life and oppression by the powerful. Still, he predicted that traditional religion would one day pass away.

Durkheim (1921) argued that religion never concerns only belief, but also encompasses regular rituals and ceremonies on the part of a group of believers, who then develop a sense of group solidarity. Rituals are necessary to bind together the members of a religious group; they allow individuals to escape from the mundane aspects of daily life into higher realms of experience. Durkheim asserts that people see religion as contributing to the health and continuation of society in general. Religion functions to bind society's members by prompting them to affirm their common values and beliefs on a regular basis. The ISCF will therefore

influence the behaviors of the girls ages 13-17 in the prominent high school. They will be able to identify acceptable behaviors in society; as a result they would confirm to these and better contribute to the functioning of society. Dr. the Reverend Stevenson (2006) drew on intriguing research done and stated that the research 'proved' that the more students are engaged in Christian activities, the more successful they are in their academic exploits.

In supporting students wishing to be better equipped for serving in ISCF, there are various training programmes available, for instance the annual "ISCF Leadership Conference" (Scripture Union NSW), or "Rising Leaders" (part of the Next Generation conference, hosted by the Katoomba Christian Convention Center). Donnette Norman (2010) stated that the Inter- School Christian Fellowship has been a source of spiritual empowerment to youth as they navigate through their sometimes turbulent teenage years. Many have received salvation, made stronger in the faith and have had opportunities for leadership growth and development. To date many of our church leaders share that ISCF was a training ground for ministry and that they greatly benefited from the time spent in that club. The movement prepares students to be better able to cope in Universities and Colleges.

The ISCF could have some influence and impact on the behavior of students who are members ages 13-17 in the prominent high school. The club has contributed to the development and socialization of its members. They participate in various activities and engage in various projects. The club attempts to satisfy the religious needs of the students and influence their values and attitudes positively. Students who are not members of the ISCF may not have been exposed to accepted behaviors in society by religious institutions. As a result they might behave differently than members of the ISCF.