Experience Bethlehem Courtesy Of Bartlesville First Baptist

By Craig Day, News On 6

BARTLESVILLE, Oklahoma -- On Friday night, they opened the gates on a holiday favorite here in Green Country. Not far from the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Price Tower and the Phillips building, you'll find the little town of Bethlehem in Bartlesville.

This is the last weekend for the event. It's great family fun, and a trip back in time to remember the true meaning of the holiday season.

This time of year, with all the holiday shopping. the lights, the hustle and bustle, it's nice to pause and think of the true meaning of Christmas. First Baptist Church in Bartlesville has the answer. They've worked since October to get it ready.

"It really is like stepping back in time," said Church education minister Lance Brewer, talking about Bethlehem in Bartlesville.

Every other year, the church transforms a parking lot into the village where Jesus was born.

"The most authentic experience of that very first century Bethlehem," Brewer said.

More than 100 volunteers in costume help take you back to the time when Jesus was born. The sights, the sounds and the experience have become a tradition for many families.

About 4.000 people walk through the gates to see Bethlehem in Bartlesville each year. The church hopes they're all touched by the humble birth that changed the world.

"Everything they experience would point to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior," said Lance Brewer, education minister at First Baptist Church of Bartlesville.

Bethlehem in Bartlesville is from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday night at First Baptist Church.