Go around the room and do a round of introductions. Perhaps every member could comment on why they came. If there are too many people to do this, you should at least do it in the small-group or committee meetings. Each project should make a presentation about its goals and past accomplishments, and the speaker should present herself or himself to the new members as the person to get in touch with if they re interested. Don t make group members eat alphabet soup.
Endless talk is boring.
People are only going to keep coming to meetings if they get involved in some concrete action. As many group members as possible should go home with something to do between then and the next meeting. Coordinators should think beforehand about how their project could employ people. Remember to be aware of people who can t commit all that much. Assign tasks in bite-sized pieces.