馬偕的禮拜堂,最初經常是租借民宅使用。早期開始自建的禮拜堂,如和尚洲、八里坌等,教堂建築的屋頂並沒有標立十字架,而是入境隨俗,改設中國式的小型寶塔。
In his early years, Mackay normally rented residential buildings to be his churches. The initial churches he built, such as the one in Chu-nij (Heshangzhou) and Pa-li-hun, had no crosses erected on the roofs. Instead, he adopted local cultures and set up small Chinese style pagodas on the roofs.