The band made the shock announcement at Arun Community Church, their spiritual "home", on Sunday morning (July 6, 2008), in the Littlehampton Community School sports hall where it all began.

Delirious? grew out of the church's "Cutting Edge" youth meetings in the early 1990s and later that decade drew crowds of many thousands to Littlehampton seafront for three summertime concerts.

In a statement on the band's website, the five members explained their decision for breaking up at the end of 2009, following a request from vocalist and songwriter Martin Smith to stand down to spend more time with his wife Anna and their children, and to work on other projects.

"We want to make it absolutely clear that although this decision has been extremely painful and difficult, we are still great friends and our respect for each other is unquestionable," the statement adds.

Delirious? released 14 albums and gave thousands of shows, touring with rock giants Bon Jovi in 2001 and the following year with Brian Adams.

They also performed for an audience of 1m people in the presence of the Pope, and to 1.2m people in India, and have been acknowledged as the best Christian band to come out of the UK.

Arun Community Church leader David Thatcher, whose son Jon plays bass for Delirious?, said: "We knew that they couldn't continue travelling like this for ever, but it still came as a shock to hear the announcement on Sunday morning that they had decided to take a break.

"But as one season comes to an end, we are confident that another season will begin, bringing all kinds of new opportunities."

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