Our alliance was formed in 2018 by Rev. Dr. Vincent Howell in response to the needs of public school students identified by local school social workers. At the time, Howell served as pastor of Centenary UMC in Clemmons and felt strongly that the local faith community would and could help meet such needs. Following meetings with local church representatives, the alliance was formed and operated under the name Interfaith Alliance of Clemmons and Lewisville.
Since 2018, school social workers, local school leaders, local faith leaders, the Clemmons Foundation (now Shallow Ford Foundation) and other community representatives have met monthly to discuss student needs and strategies to meet those needs.
In 2019, a part-time community engagement facilitator was hired through grants from the UMC conference and the Shallow Ford Foundation and a partnership with FaithHealth Ministries of Atrium Wake Forest Baptist. FaithHealth holds and manages the contract for this position.
In 2020, our monthly meetings moved from in person to zoom ones. We continue to meet on Zoom the third Wednesdays from 3-4 pm.
In October of 2022, Howell asked Kathy Giff to accept the leadership role for a January 2023 start. As an active member of IACL from the beginning, She was pleased to be given the opportunity to serve and lead in this new capacity. Howell had accepted a new role at Hood Seminary and needed more time to focus on his new role.