Kim and John Alsop

Kim and John Alsop have a rich history with Concordia and the Lutheran church, and have built one of the nation’s most successful Allstate insurance agencies as a family. They put Christ first in their marriage and are passionate about supporting Christian education

约翰说:“我们把教育放在首位——基督教教育. 无论你选择什么样的人生道路，它都是适用的.” 

Kim’s grandfather, Alwin Dierker, 对基督学院的形成是不可或缺的, 现在是尔湾康考迪亚大学. Dierker was one of five original organizers — with Ray Grimm, Molly Wampler, J. Beam, and Art Oswald — of the Lutheran College at Irvine Foundation which raised funds in the mid-1970s to support and help launch Christ College. 

Years before that, 金正日的高曾祖父, 在德国出生和长大的雅各布·科格勒, 成为奥兰治县第一位路德教会牧师，并帮助创办了圣. 1880年代在奥兰治的约翰路德教会. 

“有一天，我来到了一个叫奥兰治的陌生小镇,科格勒写下了他来到南加州的经历. “My first service took place at the Schmetgen home at which time I baptized their first child. The few families in and around Orange formed into a congregation and called on me to be their Pastor.”

Kogler’s children and grand-children became orange farmers and land-owners in Orange County. Kim graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 1980 with a combined degree in math and economics and was immediately hired by Unocal, 她在石油行业的明星是从哪里升起的. 她还获得了南加州大学金融专业的MBA学位.

At Unocal, 从国际现金流模型，金做了所有事情, 为整个公司做预算, to strategic planning, 对兼并和收购. She served on a team that sold the company’s refineries and service stations; on another team that sold its agricultural products business; and on another that sold the remaining oil and gas operations.

While attending UCSB, Kim began attending social events and fundraisers with her grandfather, Alwin. Christ College soon asked her to serve on its foundation board and she agreed.

“当我参加这些活动时, 我妹妹从康科迪亚毕业，84年嫁给了克里斯·赫舍尔, 弗雷德里克·赫舍尔的儿子, 学院的第一任发展主任,” Kim says. “My brother-in-law was a very good baseball player and ended up being one of the first coaches there, 上世纪80年代初，我在指导我的另一个小舅子. So we were there a lot, whether for fundraising, sporting events, or foundation board activity.”

金和约翰于1985年结婚，育有三个孩子, 金把她带到康科迪亚的筹款会议上. “孩子们都不到七八岁, so I took them with me to the meetings and had the college kids watch them,” she says.

John worked in the insurance industry as a market analyst and underwriting manager for San Diego and Imperial Counties. 1989年，他离开公司成为一名经纪人.

“我一直很有创业精神，”他说. “I grew up doing crazy things like selling soda pops to people in gas lines when there was a gas crunch. Becoming an insurance agent is running your own business, which was very interesting to me.”

His first office was located in a Sears store; then he opened one in Montclair, 它仍在运行. 多年来，该机构做得很好，发展壮大，并获得了无数奖项. 

Concordia grew, too, and funding was always a challenge because it was important to build the physical spaces to support the growing campus population, Kim says.

“Students having to live off campus and commute was a significant issue,” she says. “If we wanted this community, we had to have the infrastructure to handle them on campus.”

金帮助发起了第一次慈善拍卖，后来变成了 Gala of Stars. 学校尝试了许多筹款的方法, 其中一些被搁置了——每年的5公里长跑, for example, and on-campus carnivals with actual rides and booths manned by campus groups.

更持久的是年度 Christmas concerts and the golf tournaments阿尔索普夫妇继续赞助和参与这两项活动. 有一年，约翰的球队赢得了比赛. 这对夫妇还热情地参加了大学的活动 Faith & Business Forums他们把好事达的所有办公室经理都带到了活动现场.

“We thought it was a dynamic opportunity for outreach for the business community and a great opportunity to talk about how to take faith to work,” John says. 

When Kim retired from the oil industry, she joined John’s agency as CFO and head of human resources. Today, 这对夫妇和他们的两个儿子都在这家机构工作, which has six locations and is one of Allstate’s top auto policy producers nationwide. 2016年，约翰作为经纪人入选好事达名人堂. 在私人生活中，他曾担任St. 约翰在科维纳的路德教会. The Alsops now attend Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Rancho Cucamonga.

They see the hand of divine providence on Concordia as it has thrived and grown through the years. “Concordia’s leaders have never given up on the basic foundation of theology,” Kim says. “As they’ve expanded, they’ve gone into all these other areas of study but still have the theological underpinnings. 这对毕业生来说非常重要, 尤其是在教育行业, 带着他们的信仰，影响他们所教的孩子, even though they may not necessarily be at a Lutheran or Christian school.”

Kim现在是基金会董事会的终身成员，现在被称为 Board of Trustees. 约翰说:“金和我很高兴能给康科迪亚捐款。. “We think it is a good use of the gifts God has given us to further the kingdom. We think the university is a great success story and we would like to see it continue. 在最基本的层面上，我们爱上帝，并认为你不能超越上帝.”

Kim Alsop’s great-great-grandfather, Jacob Kogler, was the first Luteran pastor in Orange County. 在这篇自传体节选中阅读他的作品.

 

In His Own Words:

奥兰治县第一位路德教会牧师

以下是雅各布·科格勒的自传节选, 长期的康科迪亚信托人和支持者的曾曾祖父, Kim Alsop.

I, Jacob Kogler, was born January 6, 1847, 在Weil在Schoenbuch, Boeblinzen县城, 乌斯滕堡省, Germany. 我的父母在我小时候就去世了，我是由祖父母抚养长大的. My Godfather’s name was Jacob as family traditions are, his name had to be the same. 我从6岁到14岁在家乡上学. 

After graduation I attended schools in Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg with intentions of being a missionary. Pastor Bruner recommended several of the boys attend a seminary to prepare students for the Lutheran Churches in America. Mr. Bruner got permission to train students for teaching and preaching in America. 整个美国的需求都很旺盛. 

Shortly before Christmas in 1872 Professor Bruner was in need of students to help out with sick Pastors. 我立刻报告，并被送到圣. Paul，明尼苏达州，在Relfs牧师的指导下传教. 1874年，我通过了考试，到圣. 约翰在明尼苏达州的东明尼阿波利斯. 

1877年，我接到了贝勒普莱恩的电话. 有两所学校和60名学生. 星期天我布道两次. 1881年秋天，我遇到了马丁·维内肯牧师. 他建议我去南加州. (我和我的家人)到了洛杉矶. 维内肯想让我在圣盖博成立一个教会. 100英亩的土地被许诺...(但)这笔交易失败了. 许多家庭来找维内肯牧师, 而且身体状况不佳，无法满足他们的愿望, 他让我照顾他们. 我接受了他的邀请，有一天我来到了这个不知名的奥兰治镇. My first service took place at the Schmetgen home at which time I baptized their first child. 

The few families in and around Orange formed into a congregation and called on me to be their Pastor. 教会是有组织的，有牧师，但没有教堂. They owned the corner of Almond and Olive Streets which was given to the congregation by Chapman and Glassell. 我们买下了一所旧学校的一部分, 1883年对其进行了改造，在一个24英尺乘24英尺的房间里有了教堂和学校. 我们建了一所学校后不久，我们雇了一位老师，有了9个学生. The congregation grew so fast other land had to be purchased as a new church was necessary.

St. 约翰获准在南加州做传教工作. 在阿纳海姆和奥克斯纳德很活跃. Pastor Runkel was also in San Diego, Escondido, Oliveheim, Riverside, and Banning. Pastor Lunky was very successful with mission work in the Los Angeles area.