Be’ad Chaim opens new Beersheva center, expanding pro-life ministry in Israel’s south

Be’ad Chaim, Israel’s pro-life organization centered in Jerusalem, celebrated the grand opening of its new Beersheva center on Sept. 18 – a location particularly special to the ministry. The Negev capital is home to 220,000 people, but its metropolitan area – about 700,000 – makes it Israel’s fourth-largest. Beersheva serves a diverse population of Israeli Jews and Bedouin Arabs, many from lower-income backgrounds, and functions as the commercial hub for surrounding towns like Arad and Dimona.

Be’ad Chaim is a Messianic ministry established in 1988 that offers financial assistance and emotional support for mothers with unplanned pregnancies, and they have been providing services in the Beersheva area for over 20 years. This center has been responsible for 25% of all the babies whose lives were saved over the past 20 years – 1,500 babies out of 6,000 lives saved.

The reason is not only the diversity and the lower income level of the population – it’s also one of the few cities in Israel where the social workers of the municipality cooperate with Be’ad Chaim and send them mothers in distress rather than recommend free government-funded abortion.

For many years, the Beersheva counselor worked out of her private home, but constant knocks made this difficult. Ten years ago, the municipality offered a tiny room, later upgrading to a larger space that doubled as a public bomb shelter. This arrangement worked well for many years, but whenever there were rocket attacks from Gaza, the space had to be used as a shelter. After October 7th, 2023, this became even more pressing, and the municipality gave people in the area the key to the premises to use in emergencies, like the Iran war. And some of those people used the key to go there and rob them.

Sandy Shoshani, director of Be’ad Chaim, said, “When people steal from me, it’s kind of strange because I say if you asked me for something, I would give it to you. You just feel a bit sad that people would steal rather than just come and say, ‘Hey, could you help me?’ We would be happy to help anybody. We help thousands of women.”

Something needed to be done, and in 2024, the organization FIRM (Fellowship of Israel Related Ministries) helped raise funds to purchase and renovate a former kindergarten. At a Dallas gala, Shoshani shared her heart about the new center – and as she spoke, donations poured in. “I just couldn’t believe the generosity… we are just ecstatic to have this new place,” she said. “Especially now when the world is turning against Israel and calls pro-life people crazy, thank you for standing with the Word of God and loving Israel – and our babies.”

Over the past year or so, the place underwent renovations, and on September 18th, I had the privilege of attending the opening event together with my wife, who – full disclosure – is employed as the office manager at Be’ad Chaim’s main office in Jerusalem. We were met by Shoshani, the local staff of Beersheva, and my wife’s colleagues from Jerusalem, as well as Be’ad Chaim counselors from other centers in Israel. The people who were involved with the interior design and renovation of the place were there too, as well as staff from FIRM.

The place looked amazing, with an interior giving the warm feeling of a home, including sofas, a kitchen table, a fridge, and a play corner for kids with children’s books, toys and games. Further in, there were offices and plentiful storage rooms for the abundant supply of diapers and formula, and a lovely boutique for baby clothes and soft toys. The center also includes a required bomb shelter.

They will use the premises for counseling women in crisis pregnancies, training new mothers and as a crucial distribution center for the community. Their goal is to enable every new mother to provide vital baby necessities for her new child. The boutique is filled with beautiful new or like-new clothing provided by caring donors from around the world or purchased in Israel through donations. Mothers are welcome to personally choose the clothes in this “free shop” – offering them dignity and respect.

Beyond the counseling and distribution of essential baby items, courses, seminars and lectures are offered. This month, a hairdressing course will begin, and graduates will receive certification as professional hairdressers. Seminars and lectures include topics such as baby massage, the power of forgiveness, inspiring personal testimonies, training on child rearing, and much more. Bead Chaim aims to give the mothers tools to be all that God has created them to be.

Sandy gave a speech, giving the background story of Beersheva and Be’ad Chaim’s work in the city over the past 20 years, and the issues they had with the bomb shelter and the robberies. She also described the support received from FIRM in fundraising for the purchase and renovation of the center, expressing her gratitude. “This place was a kindergarten for 25 years, and now it is a center that is a home. We want to bless this place together today,” she said before she asked Oxana, the head counselor in the Beersheva branch, to say a few words.

Besides thanking FIRM and the donors, Oxana also told the story of “E,” a mother who had attended the event with her little daughter but left before the speeches began because she didn’t want her daughter to hear this. That precious little child was alive thanks to Be’ad Chaim. “E came to me crying,” Oxana said. “She was convinced she had no option but abortion, because the father of the baby was in prison, she didn’t have a job or any income, and was living with her dad after her mother passed away. We supported her, and she decided to keep the baby. And that’s the story with so many mothers here. Once they realize there are people here who believe in them and support them, it gives them the courage to keep their baby.”

Multiply this story by 1,500, and you begin to grasp the scale of what has already been done in Beersheva over the past 20 years – and with this center, thousands more babies will be saved. But besides just helping mothers with unplanned pregnancies, since the war started, Be’ad Chaim has also helped people in need who have been affected by the war, providing them with baby formula, diapers and baby clothes. Sandy and Oxana emphasized this in their speeches; Oxana mentioned that as a counselor, she has worked with women suffering from depression and post-traumatic stress since October 7th, beyond just material help.

“We are also so thankful for your prayers,” Sandy said. “Every single week, all our counselors send specific prayer points to our Jerusalem center, where they are consolidated into a prayer letter that we send to over 1,000 supporters from around the world who stand with us in prayer over these precious women and their children.”

Michael from FIRM also spoke, sharing how this came about. “I want to honor Sandy,” he started, but was interrupted by her. “Don’t. Honor Him!” she said. “You’re right,” he replied, “but first I want to honor you.” Turning to the audience, he continued, “If you know her, you know that you can’t be around Sandy without getting a heart for the women and children and families that will come to this space.”

He shared how they at FIRM had seen the pictures and videos of their premises in the bomb shelter, and how they had said, “We can’t let this stay the same way.” The idea with this place, he said, is to be an oasis. “Where women can walk in and feel safe, and at home. Not having to walk downstairs into a dark corridor where they feel shame, but a place where they can feel dignity.”

Michael continued to share about the event in Dallas, where they raised NIS 2 million in 5 minutes, and Sandy jumped up and down, screaming with excitement on the stage. “I think it was the highlight of everyone’s evening that night,” he said. “I knew that if I just put you on stage and gave you a microphone, you would convey your heart to others. Our heart at FIRM is really to get the people into the same room, and set the table, and for you to share your heart. It wasn’t FIRM who did this; it was hundreds of people who sacrificed to make this dream a reality. It was our honor to be a small part of it.”

After also thanking Oxana, Michael said a prayer and raised a toast, and then Drew, also with FIRM, asked to say a few words. “Back in Moses’ days, they came after the babies. In Yeshua’s days, it was the same thing. The same spirit is operating today. The spirit that wants to kill the pure, innocent lives of babies, shedding innocent blood. It’s a battleground. Yeshua said, ‘The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force’ (Matthew 11:12), and I sense that this is an expansion of the Kingdom. We’re taking ground here. You ladies who work here, this is holy ground. Valuing life over death. I know it’s also a question of ignorance and education, but there is really a spiritual battle going on.”

Drew also prayed over the place and blessed it, and then it was time to fix the mezuzah to the doorpost. Oded Shoshani, Sandy’s husband and the pastor of the Hebrew “King of Kings” congregation, set it up and said the traditional Jewish blessings. I could feel the culmination of ten years of searching for a permanent home for this amazing ministry, especially after these important blessings and prayers were proclaimed over the place. Knowing that this center will save thousands of lives over the coming years filled me with awe – almost as if I were witnessing a truly historic moment.

Watching the mezuzah fixed to the doorpost, with prayers and blessings over this place, I sensed what Drew from FIRM had said: This is holy ground. The same spirit that sought to destroy babies in Moses’ and Yeshua’s days is still at work, but here in Beersheva, the Kingdom is advancing. Every bottle of formula, every diaper, every counseling session is a weapon of life against the culture of death. And now this new center stands ready – but it will only flourish through the faithfulness of those who choose to join hands with them. Will you be part of this story?

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