James Randolph, son-in-law of televangelist Mark Barclay and a minister at Living Word International Church in Midland, Michigan, is headed to trial this month facing charges related to child sex crimes, court records show.
Randolph faces six felony charges in a circuit court, including two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and four counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, according to court records. The charges stem from 2011. Under Michigan Penal Code, first-degree criminal conduct involves a victim under 16 years old.
Randolph has been placed on administrative leave at Living Word, The Roys Report (TRR) previously reported. Living Word Church was founded by Mark Barclay, whose TV ministry reaches millions of viewers each week, according to the Mark Barclay Ministries website. Also serving in pastoral ministry at the church is Barclay’s son, Josh Barclay.
“We are aware of the arrest of James Randolph, one of our ministers on staff, and the allegations against him. Importantly, the allegations do not involve the church, and the alleged acts did not take place in the church,” Josh Barclay said in a statement to WNEM-TV5. “Living Word International Church takes seriously our responsibility to ensure the safety of our congregation, and we are committed to taking any necessary steps to protect the congregation and the church.”
TRR reached out for additional comment but did not hear back.
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If 58-year-old Randolph is convicted, each first-degree count can result in up to a lifetime prison term while the second-degree charges carry a punishment of up to 15 years. He would also have to register as a sex offender and receive lifetime electronic monitoring.
Randolph is set to next appear in court for a pre-trial conference on March 26 in Midland County Circuit Court, according to court records. He is currently in jail on a $5 million bond.
Alleged victim speaks out against Randolph
During a preliminary examination hearing, an alleged victim shared about the assaults she said she experienced, according to WNEM-TV5.
The woman said in 2012 she started living at Randolph’s home. She was in sixth grade at the time and said she would regularly wake up to Randolph touching her body inappropriately.
“I just remember he would just be in there touching me,” the woman reportedly said in court. “When I would wake up, he would say he’s in there just checking on me or he heard a noise.”
When she was 15 years old, the woman moved with Randolph to another home in Midland County, she said. She told the court the assaults only stopped when she moved out in 2018.
The woman told the court that she didn’t share about the assaults with anyone because she that thought she wouldn’t be believed.
“James was a minister. He was my youth pastor. I grew up with him in a children’s church and my parents, you know, they trusted them,” she said during the hearing.
Randolph had a criminal history
Randolph’s attorney, Nicole Blank Becker, told WNEM-TV5 that her client “maintains his innocence.”
“My client vehemently denies the accusations made against him and looks forward to presenting a robust defense to prove his innocence,” Becker said. “My client has dedicated his life to serving as a minister, providing guidance, support, and care within our community.”
However, Randolph has prior convictions in Jackson County, Michigan, according to WNEM-TV5. Randolph previously spent about 10 years off and on in prison in the 1980s and 90s on two convictions.
He was convicted in 1983 of assault less than murder, and then in 1984 of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Living Word elder, volunteer pleads guilty to sex crimes
The charges against Randolph come months after Brandon Saylor, 44, a Living Word elder and son of associate pastor Randy Saylor, admitted guilt to several sex crimes.
In January, 44-year-old Saylor, pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with three children under 13, according to the Midland Daily News.
Brandon Saylor was previously charged with nine felony counts that allegedly took place in 2010, TRR previously reported. At the January trial, Saylor’s six other charges were dropped.
Saylor reportedly admitted to the court that he committed the assaults for his own sexual gratification between 2010 and 2023. One of his victims was 5 years old when the assault occurred, the Midland Daily News reported.
Saylor also reportedly said he was guilty of touching a fourth child’s genitals, in addition to the crimes he was charged for.
Saylor had passed background checks before working with kids at Living Word, Pastor Josh Barclay told WNEM-TV5 in a statement. However, Saylor has not worked in the children’s ministry for more than a decade, Josh Barclay said.
“After his allegations, he was instantly removed from all positions and we followed every protocol and request from the judicial system,” Barclay said. “Brandon’s allegations do not involve the church, and the alleged acts did not take place in the church.”
Saylor will be sentenced April 4 and currently remains in custody with bond revoked, the Daily News reported.
Freelance journalist Liz Lykins writes for WORLD Magazine, Christianity Today, Ministry Watch, and other publications.
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5 Responses
This is how the church has been “dealing with it” from the pulpit.
The former church member said they would like to forget the interactions with Mark Barclay Ministries they had seen and heard.
“The leaving point, I’ve just seen the things that weren’t adding up,” they said. “They would use their pulpit as a platform to silence people and intimidate them. They’d use scripture like Psalms 105:15: ‘Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.’”
…The former church member said the ministry has been talking about the allegations in their weekly sermons. They provided WNEM-TV5 video of one sermon from 2023 that they believe is directed at alleged victims.
“I was reading a verse this morning,” Rev. Mark Barclay said in the video. “I prayed for the people who are attacking our family with so many weird, wild, false, down and dirty accusations and I prayed for them. I woke up and the Lord said they have cursed themselves. Some will probably die, I don’t know, I hope not, that’s why I pray.”
https://www.wnem.com/2024/03/19/two-midland-church-leaders-arrested-charged-with-child-sex-crimes/
This pastor seems to be operating more like a mob boss than a shepherd.
Fellow sheep, it’s our job to alert leadership if there is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Be alert and vigilant. Sexual abuse steals the soul and it devastates those who are victims.
These words sound so callous: “Importantly, the allegations do not involve the church, and the alleged acts did not take place in the church,”. Whether or not the incidents took place in the church is not relevant to the heinous nature of the crime nor the wickedness of the perpetrator. I don’t think this is “important” to the victims. And I don’t think it’s too far fetched to assume that things likely did take place in a manner that involved the church…that just has not come out yet.
There is a third minister being investigated
https://www.wnem.com/2024/03/29/third-midland-church-leader-being-investigated-child-sex-crimes/