BUENA VISTA -- From fiberglass and cast-off pieces of old barns, the village of Bethlehem is slowly being built in a field behind Food Lion.

Lawrence Humphries and Herman Fitzgerald stood on ladders Saturday, holding corners of a tarp that will eventually form the roof of the merchant's market, one of seven structures in the village. W.A. Mills and Tim Morrison watched from nearby, helping to supervise and make executive decisions on matters such as the proper color for roofing nails.

The project, called "Night of Miracles: A Journey to Bethlehem," is being sponsored by the Buena Vista Pentecostal Holiness Church. The village will open for six nights this month, offering visitors a free, interactive experience with a live Nativity scene. The village's design was inspired by a Nativity toy that Morrison purchased at Wal-Mart. Sculptor Mark Cline, who is responsible for Natural Bridge attractions Foamhenge, the Enchanted Castle and Professor Cline's Haunted Monster Museum, adapted the design into the life-sized village.

"Nobody can do the stonework like he does," Morrison said. "That's important to me."

Cline's contribution was largely to lift the model Bethlehem beyond the two-by-four-and-plywood standard most people are accustomed to. He adapted Morrison's toy village into a workable version and made fiberglass "stones" to fill out the buildings. Throw in some donated barn wood and some posts from a Buena Vista lumber yard, and the village takes on a new dimension.

"For most people this is going to be Disneyland," Cline said. "I think it's going to be awe-inspiring for them."

As envisioned by Morrison, the church's minister of music, visitors will be greeted and given the biblical background: Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus ordered a census for tax purposes, which led to a certain Jewish couple's return to the husband's hometown of Bethlehem.

From there, visitors will walk past a trio of kings with camels, then to a group of shepherds on the receiving end of an angelic proclamation. They'll then enter the village proper, to follow Mary and Joseph as they search for a place to stay the night. The program ends with the birth of Jesus Christ and subsequent visit by the three kings.

"There are a lot of other churches around the country that do this," Morrison said.

He said this is the first year of a program that is envisioned to run five years, with additions and changes each year. The church has spent close to $5,000 on the display, with another $5,000 worth of materials and labor being donated. Between parking monitors, greeters and actors, about 200 people will staff the village each night.

It will be open from 6 to 9 p.m. Dec. 7, 8, 9, and again Dec. 14, 15 and 16. People will go through the exhibit in groups of 15 to 20, and performances will cycle every 30 minutes. Admission is free.