Growing up in an addiction-ridden household, Jason Williams never wanted to be like his family members. He became fearful of alcohol and drugs.

But in high school Williams had his first drink, and all that fear went out the window.

Alcohol quickly became his best friend.

“It gave me a sense of belonging,” the Hilton Head Island man said. “It was my higher power. It was my god for a long time.”

Williams continued to drink for years. Alcohol eventually took everything he had, including his first marriage and his relationship with his son.

Williams eventually came to his wit’s end and entered Alcoholics Anonymous. That is where he says Christ met him.

He started hearing a lot of “God talk” and wanted to investigate further. He started going to church and began seeing the same things in the Bible that he had heard in AA.

“AA was great to get me sober,” he said. “But I needed to fill that hole, that void that alcohol left, with God, with Christ specifically.”

Williams said he needed to go somewhere where he could proclaim Christ as his higher power. That place was at a Victorious Overcomers Support Group meeting at Resurrection Christian Community Church on Hilton Head.

Victorious Overcomers is a support group for people struggling with addiction, fear, anxiety or other issues. The international group uses a seven-step Bible-based curriculum to help members overcome their challenges.

Executive pastor of Resurrection Christian Community Church, Dr. John Tierno leads the group at 7 p.m. Mondays at the church. About 50 people attend the meetings at Resurrection, with a regular core group of approximately 12. The program is open to all.

Tierno said at its core, Victorious Overcomers is a discipleship program that can bring people from where they are to where God wants them to be through the consistent application of God’s word.

The program has made a huge difference in Williams’ life. He has been sober for more than a year now, and the temptation to drink has been completely removed.

Now he feels his life’s calling is to be there for others who are struggling with alcohol and drugs. Even more importantly, Williams gets to be the dad his father never was.

“My dad was never there, not at all,” he said “And my mother, God bless her, but she had her own struggles, did the best she could. … I get to be a real parent to my kids today. It’s like that generational sin gets to be broken.”

For more information, visit www. resurrectionccc.org.

Amy Coyne Bredeson of Bluffton is a freelance writer, a mother of two and a volunteer with the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance.