Rev. Motoe Yamada Foor Named New Executive Director, Stakeholder Relationships

NASHVILLE, Tenn., May 9, 2025 /Discipleship Ministries/ – Discipleship Ministries is pleased to announce that on July 1, 2025, Rev. Motoe Yamada Foor will become the new Executive Director of Stakeholder Relationships at Discipleship Ministries.

As Executive Director, she will guide the agency’s strategic engagement with annual conferences, helping Discipleship Ministries respond to discipleship needs through relationship-building, contextual resourcing, and connectional alignment.

Rev. Foor brings a depth of experience in intentional discipleship, leadership development, and ecumenical engagement. In her most recent role as Director of Adult Discipleship, Rev. Yamada Foor led several impactful initiatives, including the "Read a Chapter a Day" Bible engagement campaign, the "Prayer Partner" project, and the "Lenten Small-Group Initiative" She also supported a multi-caucus book study on When God Became White and collaborated with the General Commission on Archives and History on Radicle Methodism, a resource examining the Methodist movement through historical and theological lenses. Additionally, she contributed to worship-related guidelines and developed small-group materials to equip local churches for deeper spiritual formation.

Rev. Foor is a certified coach through the International Coaching Federation and currently serves as the convener of the Education Sub-Committee of the World Methodist Council, strengthening global partnerships in faith development and theological education.

Previously, Rev. Foor served as the senior pastor of Sacramento Japanese United Methodist Church and has held multiple leadership roles within The United Methodist Church and the broader ecumenical community, including membership on the Discipleship Ministries Board of Directors and participation in the World Council of Churches Central Committee.

She holds degrees from the University of Toledo, Michigan State University, and the Pacific School of Religion/Graduate Theological Union. She is a contributor to Nevertheless She Leads: Postcolonial Women’s Leadership for the Church.

Rev. Foor lives in California with her husband, Andy, and their two children, and she will continue serving from the California-Nevada Annual Conference.