The Rev. Dr Carstairs Douglas was the dedicated leader of the missionary effort in Amoy from 1855 until his death from cholera in 1877. The Church, opened in 1880, was paid for from his estate on the initiative of his brother, Principal Douglas of the Free Church College, Glasgow, Edward Band, ‘Working his purpose out: the history of the English Presbyterian Mission, 1847-1947' (London, 1948), pp. 231-233).