God Speaks to Hearts — Even in a Blizzard

When Nicholas Hanges (rhymes with “changes”) arrived at Foundation Church in Spencer, Iowa, at 6 a.m. Easter morning to pray and prepare for the church’s first drive-in service due to COVID-19, the weather wasn’t too bad – cold with a little light snow. But by the end of the service, Hanges had quite a bit more in common with a snowman than most ministers might care to experience.

Spencer is a small town of approximately 11,000 people located roughly 150 miles northwest of Des Moines. Hanges says that up until this week, the church had only been livestreaming services online. But with the purchase of an FM transmitter, this week the church of about 110 was coming together for the first time since the COVID restrictions had been issued. Hanges and his team were hosting a drive-in church opportunity in order for the congregation to mark Easter service “together,” while still maintaining physical distancing.

The service began and Alyssa Petersen, the worship leader, led the drive-in congregation in three choruses. Petersen’s husband, Corgan, was on the guitar and Hanges played the congas, as light snow fell and the wind began to rise.

As Hanges took the stage — a flatbed hay wagon — to speak, the snow began coming down faster and the wind picked up more speed, with gusts estimated around 50 mph.

Luc Arnold, who’s been attending Foundation Church since 2010, was operating the camera, soundboard, and other technical equipment from his pick-up truck for the livestream.

“I had the camera facing out the back of my opened sliding-glass window — I was the only one not facing the stage,” Arnold says with a laugh. “It was the end of a sermon series of seven or eight weeks. There was just too much power and Word that needed to be spread; there was no way we were going to stop, and the power of God got us through.”

“I had my sermon on my iPad, but that was useless,” Hanges says in good humor. “I had back up notes written out, and as I finished each page, they were so wet, I just crumpled them up and stuck them in my pocket.”

Hanges, 38, says that he communicated with his congregation that the service was going to be livestreamed, but that he would also be continuing with the plan to do the church’s first drive-in service.

“I expected maybe five cars to show up, but about 30 did,” Hanges says. “But everyone was safe and the sheriff’s office didn’t issue any [hazardous road condition] warnings until an hour after the service was over.” He also learned later that some of the church’s neighbors, who don’t normally attend, tuned in for the service.


Hanges’ message for the morning was on the Resurrection and how Jesus is the ultimate sign to turn to during life’s storms. Whether facing a virus (or a blizzard), Jesus has already provided a sign that everything is going to be okay.

On the church’s Facebook, the response to the sermon was strong, with scores of praises to God being expressed as hearts were touched by the Easter message.

As the sermon progressed, however, snow began to collect in layers on Hanges’ coat and hair. He even had to remove his glasses as the hard-driven flakes started to cling to them as well.

Arnold adds that by the time the service concluded, he had a small snow drift in the back of his pick-up.

Yet to watch Hanges speak, there was no evidence of any discomfort from the cold. He wasn’t even wearing gloves — he couldn’t turn his note pages while wearing them — but he says his hands never felt cold or numb.

“During the whole message, the Spirit of God kept me warm from the minute I started preaching until I stopped,” Hanges says. “I am grateful for that. It just shows that God will use us, despite our condition — even with bad weather, He’ll get His message through.”

However, once the service was concluded and people headed to their homes, Hanges says suddenly the cold hit him. When he got to his office, he realized his pants were soaked by the melting snow and his hands now burned from the cold. It took him 30 minutes to warm up, but he believes this experience was a once-in-a-lifetime event.

The reaction by the congregation, community, and those listening online has been overwhelmingly positive, though Hanges admits some people were concerned about the safety of the attendees. However, he assures those with concerns that the service was done well before the travel advisory was issued.

Hanges and his wife, Megan, are 2008 Adult & Teen Challenge (ATC) graduates, having met and later married at an ATC in Texas.

Hanges says, “I am humbled and grateful to be a lead pastor and have this opportunity to preach, even in a blizzard, on Easter Sunday.”