When it was decided the church would be called High Tide, it was with the power of God in mind, and proximity to the sea.
“Tanya read Psalm 93, which is the passage we used in naming the church. Tanya called it High Tide. God is mightier than the breakers, or waves,” explained the Rev. Andrew Ehlers, church pastor explained, referring to his late wife.
“After reading that passage, Tanya said, ‘Do you know this area revolves around the water? And we want to teach people that God is mightier than the water.’ So that’s how she came up with the name.” he said.
Tanya Ehlers died in January, after a 38-month battle with Stage IV colon cancer. She was 50 years old, an admirable fighter and mother of four who insisted on attending church despite her illness and dedicated herself to the children’s ministry.
Now a single parent, the Rev. Ehlers is raising two college students and caring for the two younger children at home.
“I am just trying to tread water,” he said quietly during a recent conversation with the Coastal Point, recalling that the church was started more than 20 years ago in the couple’s living room, with a dozen believers, and over the years grew to a congregation of 500.
Within a few months after being organized, 40 people had joined, and they moved services to Lord Baltimore Elementary School in Ocean View, where they stayed two years before choosing the Roxana Fire Hall, where they were for eight years. Next, they met at John M. Clayton Elementary School in Frankford for five years, then returned to Roxana Fire Hall in 2019 — until last week’s grand opening of the new church building at 28000 Nine Foot Road in Dagsboro.
“It took a long time to get a new church built. Somebody donated the land to us, and the sitework cost close to $1 million. It just took time. We just kept meeting and renting places. The Lord kind of provided along the way. Our grand opening was neat. There were 832 people there at two services that morning,” Ehlers said.
He is assisted by the Rev. Chris Hardy.
The new building, with a contemporary look, baptistry and giant state-of-the-art screen in the center, holds 411 people — an impressively higher number than the handful who first assembled. The size of the congregation grew because of the focus on the next generation and a strong children’s ministry, for babies to high school students, Ehlers said.
Chris Hardy leads the Worship Team in the new High Tide Church building.
“A lot of churches in the area don’t have that. They don’t have a lot for younger people. Then another crowd of people who came here were those who are retired. They have a lot of extra time, and they want to stay involved. We got them involved in the children’s ministry, in our pantry ministry that feeds 80 people every two weeks. A lot of people help out,” he said.
“My wife was the catalyst for the children’s ministry. She poured her life and soul into teaching kids the Bible. She said, ‘This building is not about a person. It’s not about pastoring. It’s not about me. It’s about hearing the message of Jesus.’ It was pretty powerful. Before she died, she encouraged us all to continue. My 13-year-old son Drew played piano on stage with a band at the grand-opening service,” he said.
His daughters, 20-year-old Raychel, 19-year-old Camryn and 16-year-old Leilani, worked with youngsters in the new building their mother never got to see completed.
The Rev. Andy Ehlers preaches in the new High Tide Church building.
Ehlers refuses to take credit for the success of the church but is quick to praise his wife — who, he said, was open about her illness and what she endured.
“That was a testimony to her strength. She was amazing. She kept her faith through all of this,” her husband said, adding he is sometimes asked if God didn’t care enough about her to spare her life and if he’s angry at God.
“Jesus died on the cross. If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t have done anything to reconcile us with God. What is greater than cancer is that Jesus restored our relationship with God. … If I hadn’t had my faith, there would be no hope about my wife’s death. It deepened our faith as a family and as individuals. It gives you hope.
“That is what gets you through it — your faith that God hasn’t abandoned you. He doesn’t promise that all the problems will go away. He does promise us he will be with us,” Ehlers said.
There was a time, he said, when he believed the pastor was the biggest draw when the faithful are searching for a church, but he read a study that found newcomers decide if they’ll return within the first five minutes.
“If they feel welcome, if everybody is nice to them and they feel safe, they will come back,” he said, adding that everyone is welcome to casual, contemporary services at 9 and 10:30 a.m. on Sundays at High Tide, a Baptist affiliate.
“It’s a team effort, honestly. It’s not about one person or just the preaching. And you know what they say when you’re giving a sermon: If you can’t be good, don’t be long,” he joked. “It’s been a conglomeration of everything. It has become family, too. When my wife was diagnosed, we did four trial medicines at different hospitals. … We flew to Houston 17 times.
“Our church family just loved us. They sent meals. They raised money on GoFundMe to pay for our travel expenses. … They covered 100 percent of all of our expenses.
“It’s just amazing. They really have loved us.”