By "renting time" a congregation that owns a church can share costs. Sometimes they share with a private school.
An Islamic prayer group in this area rents time at a community Baptist church. The Disciples of Christ church rents out space to a Montesori school. A number of Korean churches rent time and space in other church buildings of even a different orientation.
The local Catholic church for this particular "parish" is pretty much financed by the activity of a private Catholic school ~ (to distinguish it from a parochial school).
This goes on all over the country. Friend of mine from South Dakota (where they grow grass seed for PGA courses) says his church building is shared by a variety of Protestants as well as Orthodox, Uniate and regular old Roman Catholic congregations. He's not sure who owns the building but somebody collects rent and keeps it clean. Priests and ministers circulate up there so there's a service every week by somebody, He used to sing in the "choirs".
I used to go to a church that rented to a chinese church that came in after our service. It is one of the reasons I left the church (a small one though).
I believe that the main reason for “church”, after worshiping our Creator, is community. That is, we are a church family. Often that means hanging around for an hour or more in discussion of the sermon, or personal lives, or even potluck. But in that church it meant clearing out quick so the other group could set up. I really, REALLY hated it.
I’d rather have a cheap building where we could meet freely than a fancy one that we had to share with other congregations. In fact, I honestly believe it stimeys one of the main reasons for gathering in the first place - community.
I happened upon that last Christmas when delivering flyers for a free Christmas meal to food bank locations.
At a Jason Lee Methodist Church
there was also a Hispanice Mennonite Church renting space
And a Slavic Baptist Church renting space.
Blew me away — but then I was there on the day the tornado touched down in Oregon last December! LOL!
Those names were astounding to me at a Methodist Church location.