John D. Kauffman (7 July 1847 – 22 October 1913) was an Amish Mennonite minister and later bishop who preached while being in a state of trance and who was seen as a "sleeping preacher".
[1] The Kauffman Amish Mennonites, a group with about 3,500 members, still adhere to his teachings.
[3] After being struck by an illness with a lot of pain, he began preaching in a state of trance in June 1880.
An article of the Herald of Truth reported on 15 May 1882 that he had preached together with Noah Troyer (1831–1886), who was also an Amish "sleeping preacher", both in an "unconscious state", Kauffman after Troyer, each for about two hours.
[5] In 1907 he moved to Shelbyville, Illinois, with his followers because of conflicts with the Amish Mennonites in the Elkhart region and organized, with his followers, an independent congregation, called Mt.