Trust in Him —
A Name With a Story.

The Name

A Direct God Download

In 1997, just before TIH's soft opening, Steve McKenzie stood at his breakfast room counter in Town Lake and received what he calls a "direct God download." The name was undeniable: Trust in Him.

The company was founded on Matthew 25:31–46, with focus on verse 40 — the call to help "the least of these." Also rooted in Isaiah 58. The original vision: TIH the homebuilding company would fund a TIH Ministry. That ministry work has since taken Steve and Renee to South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Kenya, and Uruguay.

Steve first asked his ex-partner at McKenzie-Perry about the name. The answer: "Too far right." Steve then asked a trusted friend named Mark.

That settled it. Steve reflects on what living the name has meant: "Whether it's lean times or prosperous times, challenging times, the entire time, the one consistent thing that we've always had to do was trust."

The Family Behind TIH

Steve & Renee McKenzie

Married January 1993. Building homes together since. Steve runs construction; Renee runs interior selections, finance operations, and IT — and started the hand-inscribed Bible tradition that defines every TIH closing.

Steve McKenzie

Founder & Builder

Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, Steve started in construction at fifteen and has spent more than fifty years in the trade — from wiring offshore oil-rig control units in Houston, to becoming a VP of Construction by twenty-seven, to co-founding McKenzie-Perry Homes in 1989 and founding TIH Homes in 1997.

He served as Cherokee County Chapter President of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association in 1994 and 2000, and has been honored as Eagle Watch Builder of the Year, Greater Atlanta HBA Builder of the Year (1999), and Cherokee Chapter Builder of the Year (2002). Through every chapter, quality, craftsmanship, and value have stayed his top priorities.

An entrepreneur at heart, Steve has trained leaders and managers across land development, single-family and multi-family construction, and light commercial building. His "systems" mindset produced the construction manuals and employee handbooks TIH still runs on today — resources that business and ministry leaders around the world have used to bring their own visions to life. That same drive has built churches, schools, and water wells locally, nationally, and internationally.

Renee McKenzie

Co-Owner & Design Director

Met Steve in the early 1990s and they married in January 1993. Renee brought a long tradition of faith into the family that has shaped the way TIH builds and serves to this day.

With 40 years in interior and exterior design, photography, and customer relations, Renee is a recognized leader in the field. Her color schemes — inside and out — have been copied by other builders and adopted across entire communities. She has a rare eye for pulling together color, flooring, cabinetry, countertops, and tile, and a reputation as a trendsetter throughout Cherokee and Cobb County.

At TIH Homes she manages every selection for new homes and buyers, leads each buyer's introduction walkthrough and re-walk, and oversees warranty service. She also heads Trusttwo Designs and TIH Ministries.

The Team Behind The Build

Office, Sales & Lake Arrowhead

Steve and Renee run the build. These three run the day-to-day — closings, model homes, marketing, and the long relationships TIH builds with buyers in Lake Arrowhead and beyond.

Steve's Career Arc

Fifty-One Years
of Building