Every ministry has a beginning.

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HopeWorks began with a calling.

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In the early 1980s, Atlanta businessman Lynn Westergaard experienced 

profound transformation after surrendering his life to Jesus Christ. As his faith deepened, so did his awareness of the growing needs surrounding him. He encountered older adults who had spent a lifetime working hard, raising families, and contributing to their communities, yet many now lived in homes they could no longer afford to maintain.

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These were not people looking for a handout.

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They were widows living alone after the loss of a spouse. Veterans surviving on fixed incomes. Retired teachers, factory workers, and laborers forced to choose between repairing a leaking roof, replacing a broken furnace, purchasing medication, or buying groceries.

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Lynn believed the Church was called to do more than recognize these needs. He believed it was called to respond.

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Guided by the words of James 1:27, he founded Resource Service Ministries (RSM) in 1984 with a simple but powerful mission: to help low-income older adults remain safely in the homes they loved while demonstrating the compassion of Jesus Christ through practical acts of service.

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What began as a small ministry of volunteers repairing homes soon became a trusted resource throughout Georgia.