MIDLAND (MI)
Midland Daily News [Midland MI]
January 23, 2026
By Tereasa Nims
Living Word Church associate pastor pleads no contest to 11 criminal sexual conduct counts; bond revoked
Former Living Word Church associate pastor Randy Saylor was jailed Thursday after pleading no contest to 11 counts of criminal sexual conduct with two children under 13, facing up to life in prison.
Saylor, 73, of Sanford, is the third Living Word Church elder convicted of CSC. Saylor pleaded no contest to four counts of first-degree CSC and seven counts of second-degree CSC. Four other counts were dismissed.
This was the same plea offer that Saylor rejected last year, said Assistant Midland County Prosecutor Courtney Driscoll. The plea agreement includes a minimum of 10 years in prison and up to life.
Driscoll objected to Saylor pleading no contest instead of guilty, yet Midland County Circuit Court Judge Michael Beale allowed the no contest plea due to potential civil liability. However, at Driscoll’s demand, Saylor gave a waiver that he was pleading no contest only because of civil liability and not because he was claiming innocence.
In Michigan, a no contest plea means a defendant does not admit guilt but also does not dispute the charge and agrees to be sentenced as if they were guilty. It results in a criminal conviction but generally cannot be used as an admission of fault in any related civil lawsuit.
Beale revoked Saylor’s $50,000 bond and he was lodged in the Midland County Jail.
Saylor is set for sentencing at 1:30 p.m. March 19, at the same time as former Living Word Church youth minister James Randolph, 59, the son-in-law of Living Word Church Pastor Mark Barclay.
Randolph and Brandon Saylor, 46, Saylor’s son and a former church elder, have both been convicted of sexual assault charges.
Randolph was convicted on Aug. 29 in Midland County Circuit Court on two counts of first-degree CSC involving a relationship; one count of second-degree CSC with a child under 13 while Randolph was older than 17; and three counts of second-degree CSC involving a relationship.
Brandon Saylor admitted to sexually assaulting four children under the age of 13 for a decade and was sentenced to five to 15 years in prison on April 4, 2024, for three counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct.