I think successful groups almost always have a core of devoted people who will show up on time, rain or shine, enough for the event to succeed. If you were alone for hours waiting for other people, that was a really bad sign IMO.

We’ve been doing this for over 20 years.

But the “glue” that keeps us together, is the organization we’re all members of.

Church?

I’m a Christian and have always been so thankful for the rich community and sense of shared values and mission I experience with my church.

No, Recovery fellowship. Similar.

Churches provide many of the same benefits. For most of my friends that attend churches, the congregation is more important to them, than the pastor.

Switching from weekly to monthly helped revitalize a group I meet up with. Getting together every week was becoming too much for folks with kids and attending randomly resulted in sparse attendance. Consolidating on all meeting the same week of the month restored critical mass which made people want to attend more.