Third ex-leader in televangelist Mark Barclay’s church convicted of child sex abuse

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Thursday, January 29, 2026

A third minister with Living Word International Church in Midland, Michigan, founded by televangelist Mark Barclay of Mark Barclay Ministries, has been convicted of child sex abuse charges in the last two years.

Last Thursday, 73-year-old Randy Saylor, a former associate pastor of the church, pleaded no contest to 11 sexual assault charges involving victims younger than 13, ABC 12 News reported. He is expected to serve a minimum of 10 years in prison before he is eligible for parole. He will also have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Saylor pleaded no contest to four counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a relation and seven counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, MLive reported. By pleading no contest, Saylor did not admit to committing any crime, but did so to avoid potential civil liability.

The first-degree charges involve penetration, while the second-degree charges are limited to touching. Two or more of each count were dismissed by the prosecutor.

Saylor’s son, Brandon Saylor, a now 46-year-old elder of the church, was sentenced in 2024 to five to 15 years in prison for sexually abusing four children. Barclay’s son-in-law and former pastor, James Randolph, was convicted in August 2025 of six counts of criminal sexual conduct involving a child.

In 2013, Mark Barclay, who is known as a self-styled "Preacher of Righteousness," asked his followers for $79,000 to repaint a luxury jet he said "actually belongs" to the Lord.

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal; For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also," Barclay told his supporters in a letter seeking support for his jet paint fundraiser. "Please pray about any part God would have you do, for actually the airplane does belong to Him and not me and is used for His ministry and not personal use."

Following Randolph’s conviction, Barclay wrote his congregants asking for continued support. According to MLive, he denied knowing his daughter’s husband was previously imprisoned for the gang-rape of a minor in the 1980s.

“Had we known the truth earlier, James … would never have been permitted to participate in youth ministry in any capacity,” Barclay wrote to his supporters.