Meeting new people and “breaking the ice”

How do people meet others (at bars or wherever) when you don’t know many people in town? For reference, I have no close friends in this town and am turning 30 in about two months. I’ve tried dating apps to no avail and meeting people at work has gotten me nowhere. I feel lonely every day and I just want to know if there’s a good way to approach someone when you’re alone? Because I’m always alone at the bar and I feel intimidated going up to someone who is with other people. Makes me feel like a weirdo, and I think that comes across when I talk to people there. I just want to meet someone new, but I’m at a total loss on how to do so, to the point I’ve considered going to church just for the social aspect. But every conversation I have seems like the other person is just putting up with me and I never can tell if they are actually interested in speaking to me. When I have extra money I’ve tried buying drinks for girls but it never lead to getting a phone number or social media contact or anything.

Any advice helps.