(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) September 23, 2002-Pop foursome FFH continued its commitment to building community this summer. The 2002 Dove Award nominee performed for 22,000 people at five minor league baseball stadiums and directed a two-week Christian camp experience for families in Pennsylvania. Between outings, Jennifer Deibler posed for an IBM ad that appeared in the August 12th and September 9th editions of the Wall Street Journal and the September 2nd edition of TIME Magazine.
Recognizing baseball as a family tradition, FFH set out in May to enhance that experience for the communities of Charleston, S.C., Winston Salem, N.C., Kodak, Tenn., Charlotte, N.C. and Hickory, North Carolina. FFH kicked off the evening with a patriotic performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" and closed the night with a 70-minute post-game concert. The estimated 350 people who made commitments to Christ were directed to local churches for follow up.
Lancaster County, Penn., home to group members Jeromy Deibler and Brian Smith, was the setting for Rawlinsville Camp Meeting, a two-week-long camp for more than 400 participants. The camp intends to help build strong family relationships, encouraging families to then go back and serve their local communities. Brian Smith of FFH explains, "The general theme for Rawlinsville Camp Meeting is to see people come closer to Jesus Christ. Whether it's for the first time or just to strengthen their relationship. I think what campers expect is two weeks of fellowship with other believers, a time to be encouraged for the upcoming year and a place to bring unchurched friends."
FFH has planned and directed the camp for seven consecutive years. Methodist churches in Lancaster County founded Rawlinsville Camp Meeting more than 115 years ago.
In an unrelated sequence of events, Jennifer Deibler was featured in a national advertisement for IBM. A photographer spotted Jennifer on the street in New York City, window-shopping at an accessories store, and asked to take her picture. Jennifer agreed and posed in the middle of an Italian purse shop (Furla) with a bag in each hand raised high over her head. Two months later, with her permission, of course, Jennifer's photo appeared in a full-page IBM ad on the back cover of Section A of The Wall Street Journal. The caption read "Furla Is Playing To Win . . . IBM." The ad appeared again in The Wall Street Journal September 9th and in the September 2nd edition of TIME Magazine.
The summer's events came on the heels of a busy spring for FFH. The quartet wrapped its second run as special guest on Point of Grace's "Free to Fly" tour in February and has continued performing in support of its August 2001 release, Have I Ever Told You. Nominated for 2001's Best Pop/Contemporary Album by the Gospel Music Association, Have I Ever Told You is the band's third Essential release. Its national debut, I Want To Be Like You, earned FFH the title of Best New Artist of 1999 by The CCM Update, and its critically acclaimed sophomore record, Found A Place, flourished as well.
Sales of the band's three recordings have collectively reached close to 700,000 copies and generated numerous radio hits. Have I Ever Told You has garnered three No. 1 radio singles to date, including, "Watching Over Me," "On My Cross" and "Before It Was Said," while "We Sing Alleluia" made its way into the Top 5 on the Inspirational chart. Additionally, "Fly Away," the group's current single, peaked at No. 2 on Adult Contemporary radio. FFH is planning its fourth Essential Records release, out spring 2003.
For more information on FFH, please visit
www.ffh.net or
www.essentialrecords.com.
Nashville-based Essential Records was founded in 1992 to provide relevant music from a God-centered perspective. In addition to FFH, the label's artist roster includes Jars of Clay, Third Day, Caedmon> '> s Call, Bebo Norman, Paul Colman Trio, Sarah Sadler and True Vibe. Essential Records, and its affiliated label, Watershed Records, is distributed through Provident Music Distribution and through partnerships with parent company Zomba Music.
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