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. 

The Alpha Story

Alpha is a gigantic ministry with groups meeting across the entire world. Like most beginnings, it started small: at a London church in 1977. 

In the late 90s, Minnesotans who had been living in London brought Alpha back home to North Heights. One dedicated warrior prayed Alpha into our church where it was enthusiastically embraced. In fact, North Heights was the site of the first Alpha conference in Minnesota. 

Alpha has now been part of North Heights for 25 years, and the team behind it is fiercely passionate about the premise of it: bringing people from outside the church in. Over the years, the Alpha team at North Heights has certainly done that.

Mark Gregory once drove a homeless man to Alpha for 10 weeks. That man is now in Heaven.

A woman named Susan once invited her hostile neighbor who was struggling with mental illness. After attending Alpha and church services, he came to faith, is free of addiction and mental illness, and is on fire for the Lord.

Another man was the top dog of freemasonry until he went to Alpha and gave his life to the Lord. His dying wish was to get his friends set free.

A Buddhist man came to Alpha with not much interest and then not only came to the Lord but became a strong evangelist himself.

Alpha attenders have brought drug dealer friends that found Jesus. People have been healed, and several have been baptized with the Holy Spirit.

The stories are truly endless over the last 25 years. To see a 10-minute video of stories from the Gregorys, click here.

Some outside the church have discovered Alpha through promotions, online, or through other divine encounters. Most are invited by friends, co-workers, or neighbors.

Mark Gregory describes Alpha as the greatest evangelism tool; it’s all about inviting others. Mark explains that the daunting task of inviting strangers and neighbors could be as easy as saying, “Come and see what this is all about.”

The key is that you can belong before you believe at Alpha. It’s a safe place of belonging for everyone, regardless of faith or background. Some may even call Alpha training for believers and seekers alike. The course equips others to share their faith, pray for healing, and be ministers of the gospel. When people do come to new life in Christ, they are already prepared to go out and bring other people to Him, and the cycle continues.

Even with all the success, all the people invited and saved, the Alpha story isn’t over. There is so much potential for more healings, transformations, freedom, and salvation here at North Heights.

What was the key to Alpha’s success over the years at North Heights? People were on fire to share their faith and invite other people. People in the church caught the vision and joined Alpha with the intention of bringing others to have discussions, experience community, and encounter Jesus.

“I want our church to embrace that again,” Elaine Gregory says. “It has to come from within.” 

Alpha happens every Wednesday night with dinner starting at 6pm. Who can you invite this year?