The Joel Kauffmann Scholarship Fund

Joel Kauffmann graduated from Goshen College with a BA in communication in 1979. He
was a member of College Mennonite Church for more than 30 years and a resident of
Goshen for 45 years. From his roots in his college community, he made a broad impact
around the world.
Joel was well known for his cartoon strip Pontius Puddle, which was syndicated in more
than 200 publications in the U.S., Canada and overseas. In the cartoon strip, Joel had an
uncanny ability to cut to the core in the nexus that joins faith, culture and politics. At the
time of his death, he was the content coordinator for the Museum of the Bible in
Washington, D.C., the second-largest public museum in the nation’s capital. He was
developer of the Nazareth Village in Nazareth, Israel, a first-century re-creation presenting
the life, times and teachings of Jesus; and Menno-Hof in Shipshewana, an interpretation
center about the faith and life of Amish and Mennonites.
Though he had been accepted into law school at the University of Notre Dame, Joel set his
compass by Goshen College values; and in his case, true north meant pursuing faith issues
through the media. Joel became an accomplished screenwriter for numerous films,
including “The Radicals” (1990), which tells the dramatic story of Michael and Margaretha
Sattler at the beginning of the Anabaptist movement in Europe in the 1500s. The making
of the film involved thousands of Mennonites in Europe. Several decades later, “The
Radicals” is still cited as one of the best retellings of the Anabaptist story, capturing the
emotion of the movement. Joel was one of the founding members of Sisters & Brothers,
Inc., a Mennonite nonprofit filmmaking group that produced values-based movies like
“The Weight” (1982) and “Jesus’ Bicycle” (1986).
In 2000, he and a fellow Goshen College graduate, Don Yost, wrote an award-winning
Disney movie, “Miracle in Lane 2,” based on a true story about a 13-year-old boy from the
Goshen area who uses a wheelchair and is determined to win a trophy like his athletic older
brother. Joel was the writer for another Disney film, “Full Court Miracle,” in 2004. Joel
had numerous other scripts purchased or optioned by Hollywood producers, and he always
seemed to be working on another script.
Joel was the writer for “From Abraham to Jesus,” a traveling archeological exhibit with the
Institute of Archeology at Hebrew University in Jerusalem; the author of “The Peaceable
Kingdom and Other Fallacies of Faith” (Abingdon Press, 1996) and a half-dozen other
books; and the writer and producer of scores of media projects during his lifetime.
Joel had a deep faith and a passion for communicating that was nurtured at Goshen
College. He had a joy for living and a string of one-liners that never seemed to end. Joel
felt strongly that Christians shouldn’t take themselves too seriously, and he wanted to
counter the pollution of conflicts in the church that harmed people and our witness for
God in the world. He had an ability to see the possibilities and make things happen.
Joel was the keeper of family stories. He was a keen listener to the stories of other peoples
and other times, and he was able to capture the heart of those stories. He loved working on
the Museum of the Bible and felt it brought all of his life’s work, experience and passion
into one major creative endeavor about the book he most valued.
Joel loved to laugh, write, create, go to movies, collect Native American art, read, travel,
hike, play golf and spend time with his family and friends. He wasn’t afraid of differences
of opinion on faith issues, but wanted to engage in conversations to learn and grow, while
always trusting God to sort it out. He believed it was better to err on the side of grace and
give God space to work in and through us.
Joel taught several fun classes at Goshen College. A student recently commented that Joel
had a major impact on his life through this one class. Joel had a gift for engaging students
and giving them the courage to talk and to share their thoughts and ideas. Joel was a guest
presenter in a number of classes. When he was paring down his collection of books on
movies and filmmaking, he thought of Goshen College and delivered several gift boxes to
the Communication Department. For Joel, the foundation that was laid at Goshen College
kept paying dividends over his entire lifetime.