Bethlehem Baptist Church,

Ben Hill County, Georgia, 2002.

c. Brian Brown

Bethlehem Baptist Church,

Ben Hill County, Georgia, 2002.

c. Brian Brown

Bethlehem Church was constituted as Ozias Primitive Baptist Church on 14 July 1832. Elders Wilson Conner and John Martial served as the Presbytery. First members were John McDonald, Elijah Hunter, Penelope Hunter, Catherine McCall, Mary McDonald, and Elizabeth McDonald. The Reverend Randall McDonald was pastor, and Redding Hunter was church clerk. On 11 March 1854, the name was changed to Bethlehem. The Reverend Hardy McGlawn and the Reverend W. F. Willis served as first pastors of the reorganized congregation. Many descendants of the original members still reside near the church, which is located at the northern end of Ben Hill County.