 From 1753 until 1759 he was a lutheran pastor in Žeimelis (modern Lithuania) where lived a notable latvian community.Here his health worsened and Stender decided to leave his pastors duties in 1759.Together with his family he traveled to Germany and in 1761 he published volume of Latvian grammar (Neue vollständigere lettische Grammatik) in Braunschweig.