They called themselves 4 for Harmony, then Far From Home, then FFH. They moved from Solanco to Nashville. They morphed into a national Christian band known for pop harmonies, with seven Dove Award nominations and seven No. 1 radio singles.


They’re coming back to Rawlinsville for two weeks of camp in August.


But after that, they’re not sure what the future will hold for FFH.


“In October,” bass player Brian Smith said Friday, “we’re going to be taking a six-month break.


“... We’re at this point where we’re tired and a little burned out from the traveling and the constant pressures of the music business.”


For six months, anyway, the band members, including Smith and Jeromy Deibler, the two remaining Solanco High School graduates, will be moving on to solo projects and other interests.


“We got so caught up and lost in the pressure of trying to stay at a certain level,” Smith said, “… we kind of lost our focus on why we got into this in the first place.” In a way, leading worship at Rawlinsville in August will bring FFH full circle.


“God is moving FFH into a new season of ministry,” said Bishop Michael Sigman, the spiritual director of the camp, “and returning to their roots was part of his plan.”


Maybe it will be the end of FFH. Or maybe not.


“We’re just going to let God take over,” Smith said.




Not so far from home




The story of FFH weaves in and out of Rawlinsville Campmeeting, the United Methodist-run campground in southern Lancaster County.


Not only did the group get its start there — with Smith, Deibler, Steve Croyle and Chad Mussmon — FFH continued to come to Rawlinsville until 2004 to run the booming youth ministry.


Along the way, Croyle and Mussmon left the band, to be replaced by Michael Boggs and Deibler’s wife, Jennifer. After moving to Nashville, the hub of the Christian music industry, FFH recorded six studio albums, including the 2005 release “Voice From Home.” They were part of the “City on a Hill” series of worship music. They were nominated for seven Dove Awards, the Christian-music Grammys.


When the bandmates began talking earlier this year about how tired they are, and about taking time off, it seemed a natural thing to come home to RCM.


“We called Mike [Sigman] and said, ‘We’re taking a huge break … we’d love to come back and do something at camp,’ ” Smith remembered.


“For the past several years, we’ve wanted them to ‘come home’ and share a concert,” said Sigman, the bishop of the Evangelical Congregational Church.


“Regretfully, our schedules didn’t line up, but this year was different.”


Rawlinsville’s 121st yearly session runs July 31 through Aug. 13. FFH will be leading worship during each evening’s service at 7:30. Aug. 12 will feature a “low-key” show, “taking some requests, trying to play everybody’s favorite songs,” as Smith put it.


The camp session also reunites FFH with evangelist Rich Stevenson, who has been a “spiritual mentor” to the band and who was a motivating factor behind FFH’s “Voice From Home” CD.


Stevenson wrote a book, “Voice From Home,” released about the same time as the CD, on the times when God spoke directly to Jesus. Stevenson, the evangelist for the second week of camp, has spoken during FFH shows on the “Voice From Home” theme.


“I believe God will use the ministry of FFH in powerful ways at the 2006 camp meeting,” he said.




Going solo




After camp closes, FFH will be heading back to Nashville to start recording its first CD of worship music, which should be released around the first of the year.


“We love leading worship,” Smith said. “That’s almost our favorite thing to do,” and his favorite part of concerts. Then the six-month break starts.


“We’re all going to be kind of pursuing our own things, taking some time for doing our own stuff,” Smith said. Jeromy and Jennifer Deibler are going to South Africa for six months of missions. Boggs will be writing songs, leading worship and focusing on his speaking sideline.


“I’ve been starting to work with some bands, doing some management,” Smith said. “I really like the business side of things.


When the Deiblers return from South Africa, the band will take another look at its future.


“We’ve been doing this for so long,” Smith said, “it’s kind of like, wow, maybe this is the end.”


The Deiblers have a son. Smith and his wife, Allyson, have three young daughters, including one born in January. He’s excited about the break because it means he can “tuck my girls into bed” every night.


If they decide to come back as a band, Smith said, FFH should be better for the break.


“We’re just going to trust God that he’s going to lead our paths.”




Musical chairs




Smith said the stress of touring and recording and dealing with the unpredictable music business left band members weary.


At one point, FFH was doing 200 to 250 shows a year.


“I kind of consider us seasoned veterans,” Smith said. “It’s hard because there’s so many new groups coming in — they’re great, they’re amazing — you just kind of get pushed out of the way. We’re just fighting to stay alive.


“... Three or four years ago, I could have probably guessed within 100 or 200 how many people would show up at our shows,” and about how many CDs the band would sell. “Now it’s all kind of random. I think that’s where some of the pressure comes in.”


Smith has a theory: With the advent of iTunes and music downloading, people no longer hear a song like FFH’s best-selling “One of These Days” on the radio and run out to buy the CD, which would expose them to other songs and might develop them into FFH fans.


“Now you hear ‘One of These Days’ on the radio … go to iTunes, download ‘One of These Days,’ and you’re on to the next song.


“You don’t become a fan of groups; you become a fan of songs.”


He remembered two performances as the highlights of FFH’s work.


One was six or seven years ago, at a church in San Jose, Calif., where FFH was asked to play for a man named Tyson who was dying. His favorite song was “One of These Days,” which meditates on the time when Christians will see Jesus “face to face.”


“We could see him mouthing the words,” Smith said. “By the end of the song he was actually standing up. They said he hadn’t stood like that in months.


“It gave new meaning to the song altogether. He was so close to seeing ‘one of these days’ — he was in a totally different place than we were, and we could see that.”


The other performance was at the funeral, about three years ago, of the 5-year-old son of a friend. The boy had contracted a rare heart infection.


The boy’s father said at the service, “ ‘That was my best friend,’ ” Smith recalled. “ ‘If one of you comes to know Jesus through this, it was worth it.’


“Things that we get to witness — that’s what impacts you. ... It’s amazing to see how much our songs have touched people.”


In a way, the decision to take a break has been freeing. “We’ve been loving it more than ever,” Smith said. “We feel like kids again, going out and doing shows.”