Trey Lewis: Transforming the Lives of Addicts

Originally Published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

There’s a well-known story in the Bible about a man named David who, thanks to his unshakable faith, defeated a giant named Goliath. It’s a story that deeply resonates with Trey Lewis. Just as David overcame great odds because of his faith in God, Trey’s faith in God helped him conquer his addiction to drugs and alcohol. Trey defeated the beast that had taken a hold of his life and he made it his mission to help others do the same.

“I started drinking when I was 14,” said Lewis, 43, of Buford. “When I did it, it fixed me. It took away all my insecurity and anxiety and allowed me to be the person I wanted to be.”

When Trey was 17, he started experimenting with illicit drugs. It looked like fun, and he was fearless. He used intravenous drugs and shot methamphetamines. Within a few months he was addicted, and he entered his first treatment center two days before he was supposed to start college.

“I sat across from a guy who was missing teeth, he was divorced, his life had crumbled from addiction, and I still couldn’t grasp that I could be like that guy or worse,” said Lewis. “The concept of sobriety sounded like a life sentence of boredom. Friday nights without partying — I couldn’t imagine.”

Lewis went in and out of rehabilitation centers, then, because nothing else worked, he joined the Air Force in a desperate attempt to find discipline.

“There’s a saying: ‘Wherever you go, there you are,’” said Lewis. “I was miles from home, in a uniform, but I took Trey with me. There were drugs and alcohol around and I ended up getting a DUI. My chief master sergeant picked me up from jail and I figured it’d be a career ender, but it wasn’t. Turns out, that was the beginning of the rest of my life.”

Lewis reached out to an Air Force chaplain who introduced him to a church that hosted Celebrate Recovery, a biblically based 12-step program.

“The messages in the program and at church felt so foreign to me, but I looked at the guys in the college and career group and knew they had something I wanted,” said Lewis. “This crowd met my definition of cool. They were high-functioning kids, and they were going hard after God. All the philosophical stuff I’d heard about was being lived out before me. Shortly after meeting them, I gave my life to the Lord.”

Sobriety and spirituality interlaced, and Lewis’ life began to transform. He knew he’d found what he needed all along and was enthused about helping other addicts. He gravitated toward the vulnerable, constantly meeting with strangers in homeless shelters and low-income communities.

“I told them there’s hope, a way out of their lifestyle,” said Lewis. “I told them God isn’t apathetic and they weren’t beyond help.”

While he continued his independent ministry with addicts, Lewis got married and started a family. He also took a job with Start Church, flying all over the nation to do consulting and give lectures to help non-profits run their boards. During that time, something began to stir within him, a desire to continue serving addicts, but on a larger scale.

In March 2017, a friend he’d made through consulting called and asked Lewis what he was doing with his life.

“I was offended at first, unsure of how he meant it, but then my friend said, ‘God has so much more for you and I want to get behind it.’”

With his friend’s nudge and support, Lewis launched Good Landing Recovery, a Christian-based treatment center located in Dacula on Nov. 19, 2017. Good Landing treats addiction with a holistic approach, Lewis said, focusing on physical, psychological/emotional, and spiritual recovery. Treatment options include partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, alcohol addiction treatment, drug treatment, and meth addiction treatment. Good Landing, which has an active census of 250 clients and employs many former addicts, is also opening a detox and residential facility on 55 acres in Gainesville by the end of May.

“The first time I ever spoke at a church, a lady approached me,” said Lewis. “She said she was a friend of my former school teacher and said that teacher told her I wasn’t fit to walk her dog. It hit something deep inside me, that the old me was someone people thought so little of. Addict Trey never would’ve pictured being married to a beautiful woman and being the father of six kids, and he certainly couldn’t have fathomed Good Landing Recovery. Even five years ago, when I was begging God to fill the parking lot, I never could’ve fathomed all that he’d do.”

The parking lot does stay full at Good Landing, especially on Friday nights, when Lewis stands on stage and leads Recovery Church, a motivational service that is open to the public. It’s no coincidence that he chose Fridays, the day he once associated with partying.

“We’re showing people there’s a better option,” said Lewis. “The proof is in the results of transformed lives.”