At the close of the evening worship hour on Sunday, March 7, Steve Clary shared with the congregation this statement, which he had shared with the gathered elders a few hours before:

Due to a number of different factors in my life at this time, I have reached the difficult decision to submit my resignation as an edler at this church.

For nearly 10 years now, since June 2000, it has been my privilege to serve as one of your elders here at Pleasant Valley. In this role, I have played a small part in leading this wonderful body of believers. Some of my days as an elder were filled with laughter and joy, and others were filled with tears and pain. But whether laughter or tears was the order of the day, you wonderful people always made my service a pleasure. And for that I must thank each of you from the bottom of my heart.

Those of you who have known me reasonably well during my years of service as an elder are aware of my many faults. Not every decision made, or action taken, by me produced perfect results. None of us has a perfect batting percentage, and I acknowledge that in my own life. For those of my decisions and actions that turned out well, I would give all of the credit, honor and glory to God who strengthened me. For my mistakes and failures, which have been many, I alone am to blame and I would ask your forgiveness as well as His.

I would be remiss if I did not at this time thank my sweet wife for sharing me with this church during my service as an elder. Many Sunday afternoons, many evenings and occasional early mornings over the past 10 years she has spent without me because of my service as an elder. She also spent time with me during these years when my thoughts may have been elsewhere - preoccupied with the matters of this church. Her willingness to sacrifice in this way allowed me to better serve as an elder. She did this graciously and without complaint, offering her constant support and understanding fully that this was part of her life as the wife of an elder.

I also wish to thank my fellow elders for their steadfastness in service to this body, and for their immense love and support shown to me during my time as an elder. Words could never fully describe the bonds that we have developed as the result of our service together. The men who serve as elders here at Pleasant Valley are truly exceptional men that love the Lord and love His kingdom, both here and around the world. They are men whose vision continues to be to follow the Great Commission and, with the help of God and your amazing generosity, to take the gospel around the world. For that fact I am grateful, and at this time I wish to offer to them and to this church my strongest encouragement to continue to do this in the future.

Yet, in developing and executing that vision, this group of elders has also seen and been sensitive to the great needs that exist within our metropolitan area, within our state and within our own church body at this place. Perhaps the most difficult challenges that this eldership has faced or will face in the future is that of correctly achieving the delicate balance of reaching out to the world, while at the same time reaching in to meet the needs of our individual members and families at this place. These men are deserving of your constant prayer as they endeavor to serve at this place, and I would solicit your continued support for them in the future.

I also would like to recognize the exceptional staff that serves here at Pleasant Valley and to thank them for their dedicated service and for their sacrifices made for the cause of christ. It has been a great honor for me to serve along side each of them and I would also solicit your constant prayers on their behalf. And to each one of you that serves in one or more of the many ministries that are ongoing at this place, I thank you and I encourage you to keep up your steadfast efforts in all that you do. Whether serving as a leader or a follower, you have made and continue to make a difference in the lives of people.

In closing, I would like to say that we serve a wonderful God. I ask for your prayers that He will guide and strengthen me, as well as my family, as there remain challenges for us in the days ahead. And please know that this will be my constant prayer for each of you and for His body of believers that assembles at this place.

After he had read this statement, the elders who had surrounded him before the congregation led a prayer of appreciation to God for Steve's service, voiced by Jimmy Cone.