Televangelist Mark Barclay’s Son-in-Law Convicted
Published By admin
On August 30, a Michigan jury convicted James Randolph, a former pastor at Living Word Church and son-in-law to televangelist Mark Barclay, after a week-long trial.
Randolph worked as the head of youth ministries and is the second of three church ministers from Living Word Church to be criminally charged. The conviction follows a string of child sex crime allegations within the Midland County church, where Mark Barclay is the founding pastor.
As MinistryWatch has previously reported, father and son duo Randy Saylor and Brandon Saylor were also charged with criminal sexual conduct charges. Brandon Saylor was sentenced in May 2024. Randy Saylor’s trial is under possible delay for a conflict of interest regarding a witness.
Randolph was arrested in November 2023 after a victim came forward alleging that he began abusing her when she was in sixth grade. Authorities charged him with six felony charges. In January 2025, Randolph rejected a plea deal that would have allowed for a lesser possible sentence.
This is the second time Randolph has been convicted of a sex crime against a minor. In the first, authorities in Jackson County, Missouri, charged and convicted Randolph of third-degree child sex crimes for raping a 15-year-old girl with developmental disabilities in 1985.
The August conviction came after the judge ordered that Randolph could not bring an expert witness to testify, and the prosecution was not able to admit the victim’s diaries. However, the jury was allowed to take Randolph’s past sex crime charge into consideration. The jury returned a guilty verdict on all six counts after two and a half hours of deliberation following the week-long trial.
Some church members direct blame to leadership. Member Dana Stahl said, “Mark Barclay, the person that ordained and promoted and elevated James Randolph…He was aware of his past crimes.”
Church members also raise concerns about institutional accountability and clear oversight within Mark Barclay’s ministries and church.
Circuit Judge Michael Beale revoked Randolph’s $500,000 bond, and Randolph was immediately remanded into custody. Randolph is scheduled for a sentencing hearing on November 13. He faces a possible life sentence.
Content retrieved from: https://ministrywatch.com/televangelist-mark-barclays-son-in-law-convicted/.
