Our Story

Many Years Ago

1980s and 90's

Bob Allen, the founder was a player and a coach for many years. At a pivotal moment in his life, he had to surrender all things soccer for the good of his family. God used this to remove the pride and identity as a player and a coach and replace it with fatherhood.

More Recently

2011 - 2016

Seven years later, Bob and his wife, Jeanne went to Haiti on a mission trip and there, God reintroduced Bob to the purpose of his passion for soccer – to love coaches and players. Bob struggled and searched for the purpose in this mission, and God slowly unfolded His plan through many trials and failures. When Bob reached absolute frustration, he surrendered this mission to God.

2017 - 2019

Six months later, Bob received a call from a pastor in Tanzania, and God began His plan for FC Grace in Africa. Bob and Jeanne executed and repeated this training program for hundreds of coaches in Tanzania. They brought this program to Ethiopia as well, and saw the Love of Jesus, administered through their team, change each coach. Through this period, God developed the initial "Core Message", a series of diagrams mixed with testimony, demonstrations and breakout sessions.

2020 - 2021

During this period marked by COVID, Bob trained a Terry Lyambilo, young coach in Songwe, Tanzania who had been captivated by the message and wanted to learn more. Over the two years, Terry formed a team of instructors that included Rutta Halotel, Denis Songela and Shabani Mtupa along with a few others who assisted at different events. These three men traveled around Central and Southern Tanzania delivering the Core Message, and shared the testimonies of the coaches attending, of lives changed.

2022 - 2023

In these two years, Bob and Jeanne returned to Tanzania, and went to Uganda, Burundi and Zambia. They delivered the expanded FC Grace Core Message to over 500 coaches. God grew FC Grace's reach with three coaches who brought it back to their countries and began delivering to coaches, prisoners, university students and community leaders.

In Tanzania, Denis and Rutta received their Tanzanian Football Federation(TFF) B license, enabling them to provide a much higher level of football training, and the Tanzanian instructor team received requests and delivered training in Northern Tanzania. Additionally, the TFF and regional Ministry of Sport leaders formed stakeholder relationships with Terry based on the impact they had seen in coaches.

2024 -

In 2024, God exploded the ministry as Bob and Jeanne traveled to Kenya, Uganda and Zambia and met with coaches, pastors and leaders who gave them access to Northern, Western and Eastern Kenya, Western and Northern Uganda including refugee camps, and Zulu tribal nation of 20 million based in Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Bostwana and South Africa.

In Tanzania, Terry and his team delivered training from Central up through other Northern parts of Tanzania. Terry along with Pastor Oscar, the host pastor of Tanzania met with Parliament representatives in the capital city, Dodoma to receive their thanks for the impact in their regions, and requests to return and expand the spread of the Core Message.

With over 30 coaches, pastors and business leaders who attended requesting to receive training as instructors in the Core Message, Bob and Jeanne designed a training program with scripts, videos and one-on-one sessions to equip each person to deliver.