Though spring break is often associated with partying on the beach somewhere, many students choose to spend their breaks making a positive impact in the world. But what can be accomplished in a week? How many lives can be changed for the better? As it turns out, quite a few!
Below, we’ve listed 15 great mission trips you can complete over spring break. Though there are certainly more opportunities than just those we’ve included, each mission trip listed below can be completed in one week, and we tried to include missions that worked closely with respected organizations in order to bring the most good to as many people as possible.
1. Working with Immigrants and Refugees in Washington, D.C.
Experience Mission and the Salvation Army
Experience Mission offers groups of students the opportunity to work with the Salvation Army in Washington, D.C. The capital city is home to thousands of immigrants and refugees from places like Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, all of whom hope to gain a better life in the United States. Over the course of six days, volunteers work directly with these new Americans and provide assistance by serving meals, running a Kids Club, conducting neighborhood clean-ups, helping with construction projects, and of course, sharing the love of Christ.
2. Ministry in Haiti
Adventures in Missions
Adventures in Missions organizes seven-day mission trips to Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Christian missionaries have long been bringing support to the small nation, and that support has become even more important since recent hurricanes have decimated many of the residential areas. Volunteers who join an Adventures in Missions trip to Haiti have a variety of ministry projects from which to choose. These include organizing VBS programs for local children, working at an orphanage, spreading the Word from door-to-door, and organizing community church services.
3. Construction and Renovation in Costa Rica
International Volunteer HQ
Though they don’t deal exclusively with spring break Christian mission trips, International Volunteer Headquarters offers a number of rewarding short-term opportunities that can be completed over spring break, including the opportunity to work on a construction and renovation project in San Jose, Costa Rica. Volunteers will spend one week working closely with a local construction worker as they help to build schools, orphanages, medical clinics, or community centers to benefit the local population. One need not have experience in construction to make a difference on a spring break missions trip.
4. Spreading the Word to Navajo Families in New Mexico
Priority 1 Ministries
In this fully customizable spring break missions trip organized by Priority 1 Ministries, young people can spend one to two weeks spreading the word of Christ to Navajo children and their families in New Mexico. There are opportunities available to assist in a variety of environments, including a children’s after-school program, prison ministry, nursing homes, children’s youth groups, and leading a church service or Bible study. There is also plenty of time throughout the trip to learn about Navajo culture.
5. Helping in a Children’s Home in Mexico
World Servants
Spend a week in Tecate, Mexico helping to meet the physical and spiritual needs of children and their local caregivers at the Rancho San Juan Bosco children’s home. The home is made up mostly of boys ages 4 to 16, all of whom can largely benefit from ministry and general outreach. Volunteers have the option of working on construction or renovation projects at the orphanage or working hands-on with the children by organizing kids’ clubs, playing, leading a children’s Bible study, and more.
6. Bringing Christ to Communities in Rural West Virginia
World Servants
Volunteers can spend a week in a rural West Virginia community serving the local population and spreading the love of Christ. This mission trip for spring breakers is organized by World Servants, but volunteers work closely with a local Community Leader Team to maximize time and effort. Participants can choose to help with various construction projects around the homes of community members or focus on outreach by helping out with kids’ clubs, youth sports camps, distributing firewood and other necessities, or going on home visits.
7. Ministering on the U.S.-Mexico Border
Experience Mission
On this six-day spring break missions trip, volunteers will head to the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas. Once there, they’ll team up with a local church to bring support and resources to the Mexican-American families living along the border. While hundreds of missions groups travel into Mexico each year, this area has seemingly been forgotten, and support is desperately needed. Participants will work closely with the local community by helping at the Boys & Girls Club, food banks, after-school programs, and other important organizations.
8. Build a Church in Peru
World Servants and Peru Hope
World Servants and Peru Hope, an organization that works towards the development of children’s well-being in Peru, are working together to improve the community of Huaycan. Volunteers participating in this nine-day endeavor will assist in the construction of a church and community center by performing such tasks as mixing concrete, hauling sand, framing walls, and planting gardens. There are also opportunities to serve meals, organize worship services, and making a presentation about the organizations’ work at local schools and kids clubs.
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9. Bring the Gospel to Bolivia
Christ for the City International
No matter what your interests are when it comes to ministry, Christ for the City International has something for everyone on its short-term missions trip to Bolivia. Opportunities include helping an indigenous community with construction needs, running a sports clinic for local youth, and teaching English to local children and adults. Though most volunteers head to Bolivia for a week or two, each local project is run by long-time volunteers and a native local ministry.
10. Hospice Care in Tijuana
Christ for the City International
Christ for the City International (CFCI) offers plenty of great options for students looking to spend Spring Break completing a missions trip, including the chance to work and minister at Camp of Faith Hospice in Tijuana, Mexico. This challenging, yet rewarding, opportunity includes bringing support, kindness, and love to men living with HIV/AIDS. If working with terminal patients isn’t for you, CFCI also supports a number of other needs in Tijuana, such as teaching Bible lessons to children in an orphanage, feeding the homeless, and building houses and churches.
11. Build a Home for a Family in Need in the Dominican Republic
Casas Por Cristo
Believe it or not, it’s possible to build a home and change a family’s life in just one spring week missions trip. Casas Por Cristo offers volunteers the opportunity to build a home in a week in a particularly impoverished region of the Dominican Republic. Besides fulfilling construction needs, participants will work closely with a local church to help build positive relationships between the local community and church ministries.
12. Minister in Las Vegas
Christ for the City International
Las Vegas has long been a popular Spring Break destination, but thanks to Christ for the City International, students who want to spend their break doing good can head to Sin City for another purpose. Over the course of one weekend or one week, participants will spend time with children, the elderly, and the homeless at multiple faith-based ministries. At each ministry, volunteers will not only support those in need of it but also gain guidance for returning to their own communities and continuing to effectively support those in need.
13. Working with Children in Uganda
Go Be Love International
For those with the time to get to Africa over Spring Break, Go Be Love International brings much-needed support to communities in Uganda. Over the course of either one week or two, volunteers will work with two local ministries, Sole Hope and Heal Ministries, to help with medical clinics, organize a kids club, hold new babies, and share the love of Christ to more than 300 children and their families.
14. Volunteering at the Iditarod in Alaska
Alaska Missions and Retreats
This unique missions trip is geared towards bringing the Word to Alaska’s native community and members of the local musher sub-culture. Volunteering begins at the world-famous Iditarod dog sled race, where participants will man the dog lots, information desk, and finish line. There are also opportunities to lead a prayer walk, host a kids club, and minister at a children’s home, domestic violence shelter, or home for the elderly.
15. Soccer Mission Trip in El Salvador
Christ for the City International
If you love both soccer and spreading Christ’s love, then consider spending your Spring Break in El Salvador with Christ for the City International (CFCI). Gangs are a dangerous reality for poor children in El Salvador, so CFCI organizes soccer camps for children from impoverished slum communities. Over the course of the camp, these children are mentored by both local volunteers and missionaries, who share their passion for soccer and the Gospel. Activities during this spring break missions trip include organizing competitive games, teaching clinics or practice sessions, and of course, building positive relationships.
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