[A response] It is a struggle to connect the home and the church. Just recently we started our first small group home group in our youth ministry. One of my parents is starting it and it is seeing some good initial success. Our goal is to move our mid-week program into home groups - but this is not necessarily what I think we are talking about (as good as it is to involve parents as ministry leaders within their own homes).
The book, "The Godbearing Life" describes the one-eared Mickey Mouse where one smaller group is barely integrated into the larger group (skimming the surface). I view this largely as the relationship between home and the church. Like many, I view the home as a microcosm for the church. The key, then - I think, is to have the home reflective of the larger church. In many ways the programs of the church (as enrichment education - 30) can really work against the church. Many churches offer all the age-specific ministries (kids, teens, young adult, men, women, senior), so if their "needs" are supposedly being met (27), then why do anything at home. Foster also makes a very good point that these ministries are not typically unified under a single banner of mission, vision, or training (34).
It would seem that an initial starting point for connecting these two would fundamentally come from the overall church's mission/vision/purpose statement and a ruthless adherence to it by all the area ministries. I don't think we need to do away with age-specific ministries, but by changing our values and mission to say "we all believe XYZ and that XYZ starts in the home" (or something much more eloquent than that) communicates the expectation that our church body believes faith starts at home, regardless of the home environment. Starting at home could be communicated as simply personal devotions for some home environments. Everybody can do something at home.
I understood Foster's argument on marketing to be a lack of curriculum that substantively teaches the depth of scripture (for several reasons he lists). If this is a correct reading, I am finding "marketing" as less of an excuse. There are lots of (I believe) good curriculum available for a variety of purposes (family, kids, teens, adults, etc.) that could translate into different settings (i.e., church or home). However, cost is certainly a factor, accessibility is another factor (as a full-time pastor, I have more time and flexibility to spend a few hours searching and researching [top of 26]), and denominational affiliation is another (I have found and used great curriculum from other denominations).
Finally, yes, certainly the collapse of the ecology, the rise of individualism (24), and other external and cultural factors put immense pressure on the task of discipleship.