FFH stands for wholesome fun for the whole family_111003

Posted: 11/07/03

FFH stands for wholesome fun for the whole family

By Leann Callaway

Special to the Standard

The popularity of the Christian band FFH has gone "out of this world."

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Posted: 11/07/03

FFH stands for wholesome fun for the whole family

By Leann Callaway

Special to the Standard

The popularity of the Christian band FFH has gone “out of this world.”

Space Shuttle Endeavour astronauts took FFH's “Found a Place” album with them on their December 2000 mission. In 1999, FFH wrote and recorded a song used in a Coca-Cola national advertising campaign that aired on 4,000 radio stations. They performed a private concert for Joe Gibbs' NASCAR racing team, and they teamed with the Make a Wish Foundation to perform for a terminally ill child.

By performing halftime concerts at various sporting events, they have unique opportunities to share the message of salvation when people are least expecting to hear about it.

FFH is Jeromy and Jennifer Deibler, Michael Boggs and Brian Smith.

“We love performing at sporting events, because the people are just going to see the game, and they might hang around and say, 'What's this concert all about?'” FFH member Brian Smith explained. “Then, we present the gospel. It's awesome because we know there are people there who have never heard of Jesus before, and we get to tell them about him.”

Wherever FFH performs, they remain true to their convictions and their desire to see lives changed.

Four musical talents make up the group–Jeromy Deibler (lead vocals, guitar and piano) and his wife, Jennifer (vocals), Michael Boggs (guitar and vocals) and Smith (bass, vocals and trumpet).

Smith and Deibler grew up together and began sharing musical gifts with their home church in Pennsylvania.

“Our parents were real involved in the music of the church,” Smith explained. “My mom was the youth choir director. Jeromy's dad was the senior choir director. So, we really didn't have a choice–we had to be in choir. That's kind of where it all started, and we both played in band. Jeromy played drums, and I played trumpet. The music in both families goes way back. Even our grandparents were very musical. But we started getting really interested in music during high school. About the same time, we started FFH.”

Twelve years ago, FFH began with Smith, Deibler and two other guys at a family camp in Lancaster, Pa.

“We just got together two songs for special music at a youth talent show at the camp,” Smith said. “We just did a cappella stuff, and that's kind of how it all started. I went off to college right after high school, and we did weekend shows. We would just pack our bags and head out to do 60 to 70 shows over the summer. When I graduated college in 1996, that's when we felt like it was time to start full-time.

“So, we prayed and prayed about it because that was a big decision. I graduated with a music education degree. I could have become a teacher and had a normal income and led a normal life. But we felt like God was calling us to at least give it a shot. That's when we took that giant leap of faith. It was awesome, because while we knew it was a huge leap of faith, we also knew our parents supported us 100 percent. If we needed any help in any way, we knew our families were there backing us up.”

In 1994, Jeromy met Jennifer in Nashville, where they both were attending the Gospel Music Convention. About a year and a half later, they got married. Shortly after that, one of the original members left FFH, and the group asked her to join.

In 1998, the group met Boggs while he was leading worship at a youth camp in Missouri. “We were there for a concert, and we found out that our guitar player was leaving, so we asked Michael to join,” Smith explained. “That's kind of how the four of us came together.”

Today, FFH has a busy touring schedule. The group is on the road most of the year.

Unlike many bands, catering to a specific age group, FFH concerts are designed for the entire family. “We love to see parents and their kids coming to the concerts,” Smith said. “We've gotten tons of e-mails from parents saying, 'Your music is the only thing we can agree on.'”

Before each concert, FFH prepares spiritually by praying together.

“One thing we always know is that we need to be prayed up before we go on stage,” Smith said. “We especially pray for Jeromy, because he's the one who presents the gospel and gives his testimony. He needs to be covered in prayer because he's the front man out there.”

In their travels, FFH has impacted many lives, but one in particular holds a special place in their hearts. While they were in California, they heard about a man who was dying of cancer. His dying wish was to hear the group perform.

“We found out that 'One of These Days' was his favorite song,” Smith explained. The song says, in part, “One of these days, I'm going to see my Savior face to face.”

“His church asked us if we could somehow stop by and sing during the morning worship service. All this man wanted was to hear us sing. It was awesome how it worked out. We were actually coming through that area on Sunday morning, and so we stopped in San Jose to play in the morning worship. We played a bunch of songs, and we ended with 'One of These Days.'

“The man could hardly stand and had to be in a wheelchair. As we looked down during 'One of These Days,' he was singing every word, and he stood up out of his wheelchair. Just to see that, for the first time, the song really came to life. We realized that while this man was getting very close to seeing 'One of These Days,' he was praising God with his life.”

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