Thousands of Seventh-day Adventist Church officials, delegates and staff are gathering in Atlanta this week for the global Protestant denomination's 59th World Session, filling the Georgia Dome and flooding local hotels. But do locals even know who they are?

An informal survey indicates many Atlanta residents view the Adventists inundating their city as just another batch of sneakered, badge-wearing conference attendees.

"Oh, y'all with that group over at the Dome for that convention?" asked Claude Callaway. While the Atlanta native said he'd never heard of Seventh-day Adventists, he stopped by the stadium during preliminary unpacking for the business session, which runs through July 3.

"I was curious," Callaway said.

While about half the respondents said they'd never heard of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, among those who did, curiosity was a common theme.

"I've heard of you guys, but that's all," a CNN employee who asked not to be identified said. "Why 'Seventh-day Adventist'? What does that even mean?"

Most respondents stumbled over the church's name. "Seven-day Adventists" was a common misnomer, as was "Seventy Adventists" -- not exactly indicative of the 16 million-member church. When asked if he'd heard who Seventh-day Adventists are, one passerby said, "Who? Seventh-day Evangelists?"

Atlanta resident Gail Hines, who answered questions during a late lunch in the CNN Center across the street from the Dome, was confident in locals' knowledge of the church.

"Sure, everybody's heard of the Adventists. You guys have been around for a long time," Hines said, adding that she'd heard the church's main focus was education, particularly providing college scholarships for students.

Of the respondents, almost all who said they were familiar with the church cited members' worship on Saturday, the Sabbath, as its defining characteristic.

"Yeah, I've heard of Adventists," said Temika Brundage, who was resting on a shaded park bench in Atlanta's Centennial Park to dodge the sweltering afternoon sun. "They worship on Saturdays, right?"

Only two respondents said they knew or used to know a member of the church. "My wife used to work with an Adventist," said Jim Slemenda. "And I used to drive by an Adventist church -- or maybe it was the church's headquarters? -- over on Memorial Drive. To me, it's just another church," he said.

New Yorkers visiting Atlanta Ryan Kim and Sung Cho, both Presbyterians, said they'd heard of the Adventist Church but were skeptical. "You want my frank answer?" Kim said. "I've heard it's a cult, or a distortion of Christianity," he said. "I don't know, though. I've never been to an Adventist church."

When he learned Adventist News Network was a religious news service, passerby Red Fly was eager to share that he'd recently "met God." Did he know who Seventh-day Adventists are? No, but "I do now," he said. "Is this gonna make me famous?" he added after ANN took his photo.

Perhaps the most informed respondent was Ricky Armstrong, who knew about Adventist evangelist Mark Finley's series of outreach meetings held in Atlanta just before Session. After rattling off a list of Adventist beliefs, Armstrong unrolled a scrap of paper from his wallet with Finley's name and number written on it, explaining he'd been invited to the meetings.

"Y'all are doing good work here," he said. "Tell you what, you pray for me and I'll pray for you, OK? It's gonna make a big difference."