In May of 1937 the Golden Gate Bridge significantly impacted thousands of people and
millions for generations to come by connecting people in Sausalito (Marin County) with
the resources of San Francisco. Though the nation was going through the Great
Depression, San Francisco’s economy seemed to flourish; due to the seaport, banking
institutes, railroad and the Gold Rush San Francisco had job resources that surrounding
cities did not. Prior to the building of the bridge the most convenient means of getting
from Sausalito to the San Francisco Bay was by ferry, which had met its point of
saturation; the congestion of this route had caused thousands of motorist’s great delay
and inconvenience. The only way to continue meeting the high demands of ferry boat
service was to divert floating equipment from other bay ferry lines. The ferry schedules
could not be increased without incredibly high costs and even then the inadequacy of
ferries as opposed to the Golden Gate Bridge was obvious. Today it is estimated that over
100,000 vehicles cross this bridge daily; it still has a significant impact. Because of this
bridge people have access to the many jobs that the city provides; San Francisco has over
30 international financial institutions, six Fortune 500 companies and an overabundance
of professional services such as law, public relations, architecture and graphic design.
San Francisco continues to offer job resources that other cities cannot and the Golden
Gate Bridge continues to be the path that connects people to those resources. The reality
of the Golden Gate Bridge and its daily impact started with a lofty dream and one
engineer who took an opportunity and made history. The Connect Conference has a
dream to bridge the potential of volunteer leaders to the many resources available to
make history.

According to statistics, in multiple staff churches, there are 20 volunteers for each paid
staff member; in a smaller church the ratio is closer to 80 volunteers for each paid staff
member. The work of the church is almost entirely being accomplished through volunteer
leaders. In many churches only 20% of the people are doing 80% of the work. Statistics
also tell us that in the developing world there are 2.1 million pastors and church leaders.
Of those, 1.9 million have never had any form of training. A large number of volunteer
leaders are serving their local churches with little or no training or resources and with
little or no help from their fellow church members. The result is feeling alone, frustrated
and inadequate. These statistics must change in order to effectively fulfill the Great
Commission. Volunteer leaders must have access to adequate training and resources (and
when this occurs they can successfully bring others along to work with them); volunteer
leaders need a bridge to connect.