Jesus Freak Hideout - History

History

The Jesus Freak Hideout was created on August 13, 1996 by John DiBiase a then-16 year old fan of Christian music. The site got its start as an Angelfire webpage for its first two years on the web.

In the Summer of 1998, the site partnered with a major Christian record label, helping it reach a wider audience. Jesus Freak Hideout was launched at www.jesusfreakhideout.com. The website ended its relationship with the record label in 2001 and has continued as an independent voice among the Christian music community. The site covers Christian music, including album reviews, artist interviews, contests/giveaways, and music news. The Jesus Freak Hideout's album review are occasionally posted on artist's websites (Steven Curtis Chapman, and Delirious?, for example). Reviewed concerts include Skillet, Relient K, Switchfoot, Anberlin, Blindside, Thousand Foot Krutch, The O.C. Supertones, and Audio Adrenaline. They have also had exclusive interviews with some of the CCM artists such as Rebecca St. James, TobyMac, Relient K, Family Force 5, Kevin Max, and Audio Adrenaline. The site also exceeds the realm of Christian music and reviews current films and DVD releases, and has an active prayer requests department. As of December 2011, it has an Alexa ranking of about 30000 in the United States.

A few years after the Jesus Freak Hideout got its start, author J.M. Farro began writing devotionals for the site, which later went on to appear in four books published by Harrison House Publishers - Life on Purpose, Life on Purpose for Women, Life on Purpose for Men, and Life on the Go for Dads. Farro's Life on Purpose books went on to sell well over 60,000 copies.