Healed, Healing, and Whole: The Counseling Clinic Story

It was a Friday morning at North Heights Christian Academy in the late ‘90s. The chapel service was well on its way in the Roseville Worship Center, and Tasse (then Anderberg) and her daughter were both present and participating. Kids and adults alike were praising God, and the Spirit of God was moving in powerful, deep ways.

Tasse was thoroughly enjoying the service when God gave her a picture, a spiritual vision that captured all of her attention. In it, throngs of people were praising God and rushing to get close to Him. They were pursuing Him whole-heartedly and moving towards Him together. Tasse understood that this was the group of people that had come to Christ through North Heights, the academy, and all the other ministries.

Then she noticed a second group of people.

These people were on the sidelines, injured, hurt, wounded, mad, too tired to go on. They couldn’t get up, and they had no one to help them. In the midst of the vision, God spoke to her and said, “I care for my children on the side of the road.”

When God gave her this vision, the Counseling Clinic was already underway. This ministry began in 1982 under the beloved Dr. William Backuss. The purpose was to offer Christ-centered counseling for people’s good and God’s glory, and the clinic was embraced by counselors and counselees alike. The ministry continued through the years, all the way up to the conflict of 2015 when the counseling clinic was paused, and all educational materials were lost.

Flash forward to 2016: Dr. Oelschlager, a consulting doctor who served in the counseling clinic for decades, was on the North Heights nominating committee with Tasse. One day, he looked at Tasse and said, “I think we should start the counseling clinic back up, and I think you should do it.” 

The idea of a restart took off from there. Nikki Tramm jumped onboard, and together, they found counselors, reassembled educational materials, and launched the Counseling Clinic once again. With God’s vision still ruminating in Tasse’s heart, the mission of the counseling clinic was clear: to pick up those on the side of the road that couldn’t get up themselves. The goal became divinely focused on healing people so that they can heal others. Those that came through the counseling clinic would become ministers of the gospel that are healed, healing, and whole. 

Counseling Clinic’s counselors play a critical role in this. Tasse describes them as having one hand up towards Heaven and the other hand out towards the counselee: a picture of God flowing through counselors like a right-angled pipe. “We train counselors to function from a base of knowledge, wisdom, and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. All 3 function equally,” Tasse explains. Even deeper is the counselors’ commitment to their relationship with Christ and proficiency with Scripture. All of these are the filters of every counseling session.  

This strategy of allowing God to move has worked miracles. Families have been transformed. Marriages have been saved. Being able to heal deeply and talk through matters in their lives has set people on upward trajectories. People have said the following:

• “I don’t know where we’d be without the counseling clinic.”
• “[My counselor] helped me accomplish all the goals I never thought I’d reach.”
• “I loved the approach that my counselor used.”

God is truly moving powerfully through this clinic.

And all we have to do, Tasse affirms, is be available. Being available is key to reach those on the side of the road so that they can be healed, healing, and whole.

Counseling Clinic meets every Thursday from September through July. Do you have a heart for those on the side of the road? Consider joining the Fall training, starting September 14. Email or call (651) 797-7484 for more information.

Are you on the side of the road yourself? Get the help you need by being counseled. Start the intake process by calling 651-797-7484 and leaving your information. 

North Heights' Seven-Year Journey and What's Next

On March 23, 2016 when there was a change in leadership,

• The bank gave North Heights until April 30 to cure defaults on loans or face foreclosure
• Both church campuses were closed
• Cash on hand would not cover current accounts payable
• Long-term debt and line of credit obligations were 1.2 million
• Temporarily restricted obligations were 1.4 million
• The dance academy was no longer at North Heights
• The properties were in desperate need of repair
• Support for all our missionaries was discontinued

Today

• Both church campuses are open
• North Heights has no debt
• All temporarily restricted obligations are covered with cash
• Celebrate Dance Academy is back at North Heights, with enrollment of 340; 2,700 tickets were sold for their recital last weekend
• Enrollment at the North Heights Christian Academy has increased from 233 to 327(40% increase)
• A second preschool location is open at Arden Hills, and total enrollment is 158
• A Christian karate academy opened, with 75 currently enrolled
• Staffing levels are positioned for continued growth
• All missionaries’ back support was paid, and we now have 21 funded missionaries
• Missionaries & benevolent partners have received over 2 million dollars in support
• New curriculum at the academy
• We have invested 2.1 million in capital improvements at Roseville & Arden Hills

              Examples:

• All new asphalt parking lots at Roseville
• New asphalt at Arden Hills
• New carpet at both campuses
• Major technical updates to both churches
• New vault roof at the school
• New sidewalks at both campuses
• Repaired the wall in the worship center at Arden Hills
• We have worked hard to live within our means, resulting in a positive cash flow during these seven years
• We are under contract to sell acreage at Arden Hills for 2.25 million

It is an exciting time to be the Church: “for such a time as this.” People of the world are looking for and hungry for what we know and have in Jesus Christ. It is the season of fruitfulness for the Church, and we get to be part of what God is doing.

As a part of moving towards the future, North Heights’ leadership team spent a considerable amount of time in prayer in seeing what God was calling us to focus in on as a church. Each of these areas are founded on our DNA of the Holy Spirit. Running through all of these areas is community, something that many people have found they have lost over the past few years. As we followed the Holy Spirit’s lead, we discovered that much of what He was saying was not new but asked us to shore up and lean into these areas.

Sunday Mornings

• This is the starting point for people; they need a personal invitation by someone at North Heights before they will enter through the front doors.
• We are working on designing services and events that serve both those who are here and not here yet.
• Staff has spent a considerable amount of time planning further into the future, so that when the Holy Spirit moves, we can adjust without throwing everything off.
• We have been blessed with incredible facilities and have been working to ensure that our investment in facilities aligns with our vision.
• We have developed a new visitor connection system to help us connect better and follow up with visitors.
• Kids’ ministry is piloting a new check-in system this summer to make the process easier and safer.
• Sunday Mornings are centered on helping people to find faith in Jesus and discover their God-given purpose.

Next Generation

• There is always a next generation.
• Typically, we have thought of next generation ministry as Kids and Youth, but there is a next generation in all of our ministries. We are asking “what does the next generation look like?” from Young at Heart to the nursery.
• We want to position ourselves to intentionally reach into those next generations and equip them.
• Kids’ ministry follows a curriculum that leads kids through the Bible and relationships.
• Youth ministry is growing and is investing in the next generation in relationships, equipping, and camps.
• Within our next generation focus, we are looking at how to build internships to equip them for greater ministry and grow our capacity to do ministry.
• Our next generation is both the present and future of the church. As we work to equip people, it is our hope to have a starting point that is greater than what we ourselves have experienced.
• The academy, preschool, dance, and karate are becoming more integrated as they raise up the next generation of leaders with the Church.
• Next Generation is all about helping people find faith and discovering their purpose.

Discipleship

• North Heights has a rich history of discipleship.
• We are working on making a shift to align all our discipleship ministries.
• Growth Track is being retooled to be a pathway to membership and equipping.
• Wednesday Nights with kids, youth, men, women, and Bible studies is the big discipleship night at North Heights
• Discipleship also happens throughout the week in all of our ministries, but we are looking at how to be more intentional with it.
• Small Groups - life change and discipleship happen in the context of relationships, and we have various groups that meet throughout the week. We want to grow that number to help connect people to each other and the church.
• Discipleship is all about connecting people to help them discover their purpose and lead lives of eternal significance.

Outreach

• Outreach is more than service projects. It is reaching outside of ourselves to connect with people that may not look or act like us, to share the love of Jesus.
• We believe everyone is an everyday missionary (To our families, friends, coworkers, and neighbors).
• We want everyone to be able to reach out to at least one person in Jesus’ name.
• We have been working on making greater connections between North Heights and our benevolent partners.
• Outreach is all about discovering our purpose and leading lives of eternal significance.

We praise God for how He’s brought us here and where He’s taking us! All that we do is all about Jesus.