CLIMB Higher: Creating a Vision for Giving and Discipleship

Climb Higher challenges the negative connotations associated with “stewardship” and invites congregations to completely change the conversation around this critically important topic.

Instead of talking about the needs of the church budget, Climb Higher suggests a discovery of your congregation's compelling vision for ministry. Instead of selecting your stewardship leaders by default, CLIMB encourages the development of strong leadership through setting clear and challenging expectations.

Climb Higher involves changing the entire culture of your congregation to one of gratitude, where conversations revolve around sharing God's abundance rather than holding on fearfully. Climb Higher encourages the sharing of ministry stories rather than pledging to a budget. And, finally, Climb Higher asserts that if you truly believe expressing generosity results in a deeper connection to God, you have no choice but to boldly ask others to become more generous givers.

Kristine Miller, CFRE, Ministry Strategist with Horizons Stewardship, has assisted churches and nonprofits in fulfilling their visions for ministry for over fifteen years. Ms. Miller was the Director of Stewardship and Planned Giving for the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan and a Senior Vice President with a national stewardship consulting firm. Having worked with hundreds of clients across the country, Ms. Miller has become a nationally-recognized expert in the field of nonprofit organizational leadership and development. Ms. Miller is a prolific writer and frequently been a top-rated speaker at conferences and other events.

A native of Ohio, she did her undergraduate work in Business Administration at the Ohio State University and received her M.B.A. from Northern Illinois University.

Currently Senior Vice President with Horizons Stewardship, Scott McKenzie has over 15 years of experience in development, capital campaigns, vision discernment and conflict management. Prior to his time in consulting, he was a local church pastor and the Director of Stewardship for the Western Pennsylvania Conference United Methodist Church. As a national stewardship consultant, he has worked with a wide variety of denominations including United Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Episcopal, and Roman Catholic.

Dr. McKenzie believes stewardship is ultimately a question of faith development and discipleship. He teaches stewardship as "grounded in gratitude, revealed in prayer and lived in faith." He holds degrees from Messiah College and United Theological Seminary. His Ph.D. is in spiritual formation from Duquesne University. He lives in York, Pennsylvania.