Do Short Term Mission Trips Matter?

by Ben Nelson | President of Mission Bulgaria

One of the most common questions we’re asked is, “Do short-term mission trips make an impact?” The short answer is, “It depends.”

What does it depend on? It depends on whether you are partnering with a long-term plan and team, or if the ministry is dependent solely on international teams coming to serve.

At Mission Bulgaria, short-term mission trips not only matter, they play a vital and significant role in the ongoing work being done. Every time I take a team to Bulgaria, I remind them that we aren’t going to fix something. We’re going to join something.

There’s a temptation in short-term missions to measure success by what we can see: how many meals we served, how many homes we visited, or how many kids we hugged. But if that’s all we focus on, we’ve missed the point.

The Kingdom of God doesn’t move on timelines or trip itineraries. It moves through relationships - slow, steady, and sacred. That’s why short-term trips matter. Not because they change everything in a week, but because they connect people who never would have met otherwise.

Our partners in Bulgaria, Dinko and Stefko Zlaterov, are not just names on a newsletter. They’re pastors, leaders, and fathers in the faith who pour out their lives every single day. When a team travels to serve beside them, the real impact isn’t in what gets built. It’s in what gets bonded.

I’ve watched Americans weep beside Bulgarians they can’t even speak to without a translator. I’ve watched children run into the arms of people who flew across an ocean just to tell them, “You are seen.” Those moments don’t fade when the plane takes off. They plant seeds of compassion, humility, and understanding.

In the early church, the Apostle Paul traveled from community to community, strengthening the believers and reminding them they weren’t alone. Every trip we take is a reflection of that same rhythm. We go to remind our brothers and sisters that they’re part of a bigger story, and in the process, we remember that we are too.

So yes, short-term trips make a long-term impact. Not just because of what we do, but also because of who all of us become in the process. We see missionaries strengthened, the lost found, the hurting healed, and the forgotten embraced. We come home changed, our prayers deepen, and our generosity expands. We begin to see mission not as a week on a calendar, but as a way of life.

Mission Bulgaria’s vision isn’t just about sending teams. It’s about sending love that lingers. Every handshake, every prayer, every shared meal becomes another thread in the tapestry of God’s Kingdom that’s being woven across borders and generations.