(YMCA Staff helps unload cases of water donated by Pastor Carlos Wilson)

A local pastor known for investing in his community has made investments beyond the community in which his church serves. He's went beyond the normal helping his city. He's traveled to down highway 49 to the state capital where he's helping with its water crisis.

Pastor Carlos Wilson, Senior Pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church, donated a trailer full of cases of water, over 5,000 bottles, to the YMCA, who's collecting water to send to Jackson by the end of next weekend.

Often times, churches are seen taking up alot of money to do the Lord's work but some rarely do anything visible or at least significant. Before the pandemic, it's part of the reason the church membership as a whole continued to decline. Once revered men of the cloth became ordinary as the church took less and less of a stance in the community it claims the Lord has called it to serve.

That's not the case for this church, who has recently built a state of the art basketball and tennis court in its backyard to keep local youth entertained and healthy. The church is also neighboring to one of the biggest jewels of the city, Chain Park, in which many of the city's biggest events are held.

Much of the church success comes from God's ambassador, the pastor, who receives his vision from God himself as to what the church should be doing here on earth. For Wilson's part, he's rebuilt countless of homes within his community. He's hosted national figures such as the Rev. Dr. William Barber, in which later contributed to Carol Jones Russell being elected the first county-wide African American in the history of Forrest County.

But that's just a scratch of the surface. Some of the state's most powerful leaders tune in every Sunday and Wednesday Night to hear one of Hattiesburg's most powerful preachers including Rep. Percy Watson, who's a member of the thriving church. Local leaders attend as well, such as Dr. Robert Williams, the superintendent of Hattiesburg Public School District.

Those are just 2 of the church thousands of members. The church has two services, both full to capacity, one at 8am and the other at 11am. The church has revamped it services due to COVID restrictions, but still have services every Sunday.

The church that's known as the 'Pride of the Eastside' that brings the 'Gospel to the Goulas' is doing more than that. It is bringing help to the state's capital at a time when they need it the most. This church knows no bounds when it comes to helping others. Carlos Wilson is not just a humble servant of the Lord, he's a powerful pastor that serves the people of God literally every day.