Armando Benner, a Venezuelan Jew, was born in Caracas , Venezuela where he grew up among intellectuals in a secular home. He traveled through Eastern Europe , around South America as well as the Caribbean before he was 18. While studying at college, someone shared the good news of Jesus the Messiah and Armando became the first believer in his family. The felt need of Armando was to have an encounter with his father, however when he met Jesus he got to know his heavenly father. Karin Benner was also born in Caracas , and she is also Jewish. Karin's father is an opera singer and a leader in the evangelical community of Venezuela . Karin had a personal encounter with Jesus when she was 18 years old.

Armando and Karin joined YWAM in 1990 and did their DTS in Chico , California .

After Chico , the Benner's went to Southern Spain where Gabriel, their son, was born. They studied Colloquial Moroccan in Fez and in July, 1991 they joined YWAM Amsterdam, working among the Rif Berber community that is represented in the city. Rachel, their third child, was born in Amsterdam in 1993. Karin and Armando led the outreach among the Rif Berber community, learning their language, their alphabet and pioneering the translation of portions of the Scriptures as well as dubbing some films. In 1994 Armando produced a movie for the Berber children based on the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The movie has been shown on national TV in several countries in Europe and North Africa . As well, Armando and Karin lead and baptized several Berbers in Amsterdam .
In 1998 Armando became the director of YWAM Amsterdam and Karin took the leadership of the Ethnic Ministries. Today Karin leads a ministry of YWAM Amsterdam called ETHNOS which focuses on the mobilization of churches to go to the nations for mission awareness. Currently, the team is putting into motion a community art center in Tibet . Armando and Karin are co-founders of Destinations -From the Nations to the Nations a new initiative of YWAM International. Destinations has hosted multicultural celebrations in South Africa , The Netherlands, Madagascar , Brazil , USA ( Miami ), Haiti and Venezuela , among other nations. Several ministries happen in YWAM Amsterdam among different spheres of society in the city. One of the passions of Armando is the Tabernacle of the Nations, a place to worship God 24/7 in the heart of the city in the different styles of the nations represented. Both Karin and Armando Benner have a passion for China , and as a base, they will be focusing more and more into some omega zones of this beautiful nation.